The Professor's Apprentice
by EmeraldWings1992
Summary: After the mystery of the Future London, Luke and his parents move to California. A new Maze Stone in better condition then the Hemet Maze stone, was discovered just outside of the small village of Kurain, and it's Clark Triton's task to discover its origin. However, danger lurks in these mountains. Will Luke and his new friend, Pearl, solve this mystery before it's too late? DONE
1. Farewell

A/N: So, for my followers, I'm sure you all remember be setting up a "poll" of sorts of which fanfiction idea I should write next. Turns out, _The Professor's Apprentice_ won!

Here's the first chapter!

...

Chapter One – Farewell

The dock was noisy and crowded, the large ship waiting patiently for her passengers. The water she floated in was a darker reflection of the light blue, almost cloudless sky above, and the sound of the seagulls' cries were almost cheerful.

The same could not be said of the thirteen year old boy, perched on top of his suitcase, waiting to board, next to his longtime friend and mentor. The boy kept his head down, using his light brown bangs and the brim of his blue hat to hide his eyes.

Finally, after the sound of the horn, the boy knew it was time. Reluctantly, he hopped down from where he sat, keeping his eyes covered.

"I guess this... is good-bye..." he said softly without looking up. The man next to him turned from where he was studying the ship.

"Oh no, my boy," he began in a tone that announced he was optimistic. "This is 'so long', not 'good-bye'."

At these words, the boy's shoulders began to shake, a small sob escaping him yet. The man closed his eyes with a small smile.

"Now Luke, you know a gentleman never makes a scene in public," he said, knowing the boy in front of him always tried his hardest to be a "true gentleman".

The boy stopped for a moment at these words, sniffled, and finally looked up at the man, his eyes brimming with tears.

"I'm sorry, Professor, but I'm not a gentleman yet!" he cried before throwing himself at the surprised professor, wrapping his arms tightly around his middle, and sobbing into his orange clad chest. Professor Layton, after a moment more of shock, smiled reassuringly.

"There there," he said softly, adjusting his top hat before wrapping his arms around the sobbing boy, tears appearing in his own eyes.

A little while longer, the ship's horn let out another blast, and the Professor helped Luke load his suitcase before walking back down the gangplank and watching as it sailed peacefully on its way, taking two of his closest friends, and his beloved apprentice, away from London and towards America.

…

Luke watched as the coast of their new home came into view. It had been about a week since he said good-bye to the Professor, and, while he was still sad, he couldn't wait to see this new land and the adventures that awaited him.

The ship finally glided smoothly up to the dock and stopped, letting her passengers off and onto the solid ground of California, North America. This dock was as busy as the one they left, and Luke's mum, Brenda, made sure to keep a tight grip on his hand so they wouldn't get separated.

Luke, however, froze in his looking around, inadvertently pulling her to a stop. Rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn't going crazy, he studied the woman in front of him, seeing someone he recognized, and the last person he expected.

"Luke!?" a woman in a long, purple kimono gasped, spotting him. Her black hair was longer then the last time they met, and she no longer wore the clothes of an acolyte-in-training, but that grin was one he'd never forget.

"Ms. Maya!?" Luke gasped.

"You two know each other?" Clark, Luke's father, asked in mild surprise.

"Yeah. Remember how the Professor told you about Labyrinthia?" Luke asked excitedly, looking up at Clark.

"Yes," the man sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He loved his son and how attached he was to one of his oldest friends, but sometimes, he wondered if he gave Luke a little too much freedom.

"That's where we met!" Maya said, clasping her hands together and giving a quick nod of her head, her hair bouncing with the movement.

"That's great!" Brenda said with a smile. "It seems Luke already has some friends in the village where we're going. Right, Clark?" she said. Clark smiled with a nod.

"Wait, you're the archaeologist from London?" Maya asked. Clark nodded again with a bemused grin, and the young woman smiled. "That's great. Right this way!" she said, turning on her heel to lead them forward.

"So, what's with the new clothes, Ms. Maya?" Luke asked, walking a little faster to get closer behind her. "And are you still Mr. Wright's assistant? How's he doing, anyway?"

Maya lost the spring in her step at these questions, glancing back at the young boy. Her eyes, moments ago so full of happiness, were now sad.

"I'm now the Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique," she said, running a hand down her sleeve and looking away from him, off to the side. She then looked forward. "And... no. I'm no longer Nick's assistant. As for how he's doing..." she trailed off and Luke, despite his young age, knew better than to pry. Maya shook her head, gave a determined nod, and suddenly turned to face the family, her large grin back in place.

"Hey! You've never been to America, right? What you need to try is an American Hamburger. Come on!"

…

A/N: And here we are! The conclusion of the first chapter! What do you guys think? Should it stay in third person? Should I switch to first person?

What are your opinions?


	2. Kurain Village

A/N: So , I guess I should explain what the Hemet Maze Stone is for those of you who don't know.

Buuuuuut... That'll take a while, so...

Clark will also explain it to Luke sometime soon, just be patient!

I also made a mistake in the last chapter's Author Note! I forgot to mention their ages! Luke is 13, and Pearl is 11.

Whoops!

Enjoy!

…

Chapter Two – Kurain Village

Luke watched out the window of the train as it steadily climbed the side of the mountain, watching the beautiful scenery as it flew by outside the glass.

"So, where exactly will I be working?" Clark asked Maya.

"The artifact was found just twenty minutes away from the village. Some of the brush was cleared away by the last archaeologist, so it should be easier to get out there. He was also living in the village, and you're welcome to the house, free of charge," Maya explained with a smile, trying to keep her own attention from drifting out the window.

"The last archaeologist? You mean there was someone here before me?" Clark asked surprised.

"You mean they didn't tell you?" Maya asked, surprised.

"Well, the Historical Museum of Los Angeles did say something about little research having already been done," the older man said thoughtfully, sitting back in his seat and running a hand through his light brown hair. "What happened to him?"

"Dr. Kingston just suddenly quit," Maya said thoughtfully. "Apparently, he was the leading expert on these kinds of things, but..." she shrugged, not seeming to know what happened.

"Ah. Well, what about school for Luke?" Brenda asked, capturing the attention of her son. "Does Kurain Village have a school?"

"Actually, we don't even have cellphone service," Maya said with a laugh. "But my cousins take the train to a school in town. Hope you don't mind getting up too early, Luke," Maya said, turning to the boy with a coy smile. Luke just groaned in return.

"What time is early?" he asked. Maya looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Well, Pearly mentioned getting up around 5:30. It is a two hour train ride to the city," she said. "And classes start around eight..."

Luke let out another groan, letting his head fall against the window he was just looking out of with a resounding _thunk_.

…

Kurain Village was small, but cozy. In the distance, a mountain stood tall, and the main road seemed to lead right to it. To the left was a public phone and a bus stop, though the bus stop looked like it was hardly ever used. To the right was a large, beautiful manor.

"This is Fey Manor, where me and my cousin's live. This is also where most of the channeling happens," Maya explained. Luke studied the manor, noticing a girl, maybe a few years younger then him, peeking out the door. Maya saw here too.

"Pearly! Come here!" she said with a big grin. The girl's eyes widened slightly before she came forward.

"Hello," she said shyly, glancing at Brenda and Clark before looking at Luke. Luke gasped slightly before straightening up and fixing his hat, his cheeks tinged red slightly. Pearl noticed and blushed a little as well, coving her cheeks with her hands.

Clark and Brenda noticed their son's behavior right away and smiled warmly at each other. Maya grinned as well.

"Pearly, this is the archaeologist, Dr. Triton, and his wife and son, Brenda and Luke. Guys, this is my cousin, Pearl Fey."

"It's nice to meet you, Pearl," Luke said, tipping his hat to the girl, copying the same movement he'd seen Professor Layton do everytime he met a lady. Pearl giggled, keeping her cheeks covered.

"It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Luke," she said. Luke gasped slightly, his eyes widening.

"Y-you can just call me Luke..." he said. Pearl giggled even more, but nodded.

"Okay... Luke."

"Hey Pearly, do you wanna show Luke around while I get his parents settled?" Maya asked, a mischievous look in her eyes.

Pearl gasped, looking up at her cousin. "R-really?" she asked.

"That sounds fun. Why don't you go with her, Luke?" Brenda asked, the look in her eyes matching Maya's. Only Clark shook his head, feeling pity for his now beet-red son.

"O-okay..." he said meekly. Pearl grinned, grabbed his hand, and led him down the main road.

"Common!" she said with a huge grin.

"Whoa!" Luke gasped, stumbling after the excited girl, grabbing his hat to keep it from flying off his head and leaving Brenda and Maya to laugh behind them.

"Well, this way. You'll be staying at 32 Uphill Way," Maya said, leading the remaining Tritons to their new home.

…

"So, what did you think of Luke?" Maya asked her cousin. It was later that night, and the two were cleaning up from dinner. Pearl blushed brightly, a huge grin crossing her face.

"He's nice. And smart. And funny. And he can talk to animals! Did you know that, Mystic Maya?" Pearl gushed, looking up at the older girl. Maya laughed.

"I did! Remember when Nick and I went to London?" she asked. Pearl nodded, her eyes still bright at the thought of the boy. "We met Luke and his mentor, Professor Layton, then."

"Ah! I remember you telling me about that! This is the same Luke?" Pearl asked. Maya nodded with a grin. "It must be fate! Mystic Maya, Mystic Maya! What if he's my... my..." she hesitated, covering her cheeks again. "My... 'special someone'!?"

Maya laughed at her cousin, remembering when she was that young and romantic.

"Who knows, Pearly? He might be."

…

"So, what did you think of Pearl?" Brenda asked her son as he helped her clean up from dinner. Luke froze, his cheeks turning dark red.

"Sh-she's nice," he mumbled. Brenda grinned, catching the eye of her husband, who had looked up from the papers he read, the research from the previous archaeologist.

"Don't you think she's cute?" Brenda asked innocently. Luke turned about three shades darker, causing Brenda to laugh.

"Well, let's up you remember all those "true gentleman" lessons from the Professor," she said with a smile. "After all, that's the quickest way to a good girl's heart."

…

A/N: Tada! Poor Luke. And Pearl is SOOOO cute! Well onto the next chapter!

By the way, anyone realize that Clark wears basically the same thing that Phoenix normally does...? Blue suit, white undershirt, pink tie...

Wonder if that was done on purpose?


	3. School and The Wright Talent Agency

A/N: Hey guys! What's up? It's Thanksgiving as I write this, while I also watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, so... it'll take me a while to write this.

By the way, you're not getting a cover picture for this story until Thanksgiving, haha!

Here we go!

Also, anyone who read _The Phantom Turnabout_ will recognize two of my OCs in this chapter!

…

Chapter Three – School, and The Wright Talent Agency

5:30AM came too early. That's what Luke decided as Brenda was forced to drag her groaning son from his warm, comfortable bed.

"Come on, Luke, you have to get ready! It's your first day of school, after all," she said, stifling her laughter.

 _And a true gentleman always strives to make a good first impression._ Professor Layton's voice echoed in the young man's head. He let out another groan, but forced his black eyes open.

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled, shuffling over to his closet and pulling out his outfit for the day. Brenda laughed once more and left the room to give her son privacy to get ready.

Once showered and ready, Luke grabbed some breakfast, then went to meet the Feys to catch the train. He was meeting not only Pearl, who he found out was in 6th grade, as opposed to his own 8th grade, but her two younger cousins as well.

Her cousins, Jade and Ruby Fey, could have been Pearl's sisters. Both had the same shade of brown hair as Pearl and the same gray eyes. They were a lot younger then her, though, both at the age of nine, in fourth grade. They were twins, after all.

"Morning!" Pearl said brightly. Luke let out a decidedly un-gentleman like grunt through his muffin, causing all three girls to laugh. Realizing what he did, and how the Professor would disapprove, he quickly swallowed.

"Morning," he amended, making Pearl giggle more. Luke blushed, studying the half-of-a-muffin he had left.

"Excited for school?" Pearl asked. Luke chuckled.

"Not particularly. Once I became apprenticed to Professor Layton, I was getting my education from him and the other professors at Gressensheller University," he explained.

"So, you were home schooled?" Jade asked, blinking up at this new boy, her own gray eyes wide. Luke thought about that for a minute.

"Sort of," he finally replied.

"Wow, so was Mystic Pearl and us!" the little girl gasped.

"How many times do I have to tell you," Pearl started, her cheeks a little red. "Just call me Pearl. Only Mystic Maya gets that title," she said. Jade blushed.

"Oops, sorry!" she squeaked. Ruby shook her head at her sister before studying Luke again. Just then the train pulled up, letting the four board.

"Passes," one of the workers said as he stopped at their seats. Pearl, Jade, and Ruby all held up cards that the worker scanned, then turned to Luke. "Pass?" he asked, a little be more abruptly, no doubt annoyed he had to ask again. Luke frowned at him, before realizing the issue.

"Oh, I don't..." he trailed off.

"Oh yeah!" Pearl gasped, pulling out an extra pass. "Mystic Maya told me to give this to you!" she said, handing it to Luke. He sighed in relief and gave it to the train worker to scan. The worker huffed slightly, scanned it, and shoved it back at the boy. Luke scowled in his direction as the worker walked away, putting the pass in his satchel.

"Is he always that ornery?" Luke grumbled, crossing his arms. All three of the girls looked at him blankly.

"What's ornery?" Jade asked curiously.

"Eeeeh..." Luke had to think about it for a moment. "Cankerous?" More blank looks. "Ill-tempered?"

"Oh! Why didn't you say so?" Pearl said with a grin. "Yeah. He is. At least, in the morning when we see him. Don't know about when he's not working though," she said. Luke shook his head.

"Well, it is kind of early..." he said, resting back against his seat and yawning, widely. This sent the three girls into another fit of giggles. "How did you EVER get used to this?" Luke asked, looking at them.

"We didn't have to," Ruby said.

"Oh?"

"Our training made us wake up at five before we started going to school," Pearl explained.

"Training?"

"As Spirit Mediums!"

"Oh... yeah..." Luke said, vaguely remembering Maya mentioning something about that in their time in Labyrinthia.

"Maybe I'll show you sometime," Pearl said with a coy grin. Ruby, however, leaned over to Jade.

"She's been spending WAY too much time around Mystic Maya..."

…

Schools in America were a lot different from those in London, and it took Luke a lot to get use to. Finally, however, he was able to escape the building, and all the questions the other kids asked him about his accent, the Professor (apparently, even in America, they know about Professor Layton's and Luke's feats), and London itself.

"You okay?" Pearl asked as Luke found her in front of the school building.

"Yeah," he said, shaking his head. "So are we going to catch the train now?"

"No. We have to wait an hour for Jade and Ruby to get off school."

"Oh."

"We are, however, going to go visit an old friend. Common!" she said with a bright smile, leading away from the school. A very confused Luke followed after.

…

Pearl walked up the stairs of the building to an old door, Luke following after.

"Pearl, where are we going?" he asked, looking around.

"Right here!" she said, stopping in front of the door. On the front was a sign: _The Wright Talent Agency_.

"'Wright'... wait, not... Mr. Wright?" Luke asked as Pearl opened the door. Phoenix Wright was sitting on the couch in a reception like area, surrounded by magic props, taking a swig from a dark green bottle that Luke couldn't see the label to.

Phoenix looked nothing like Luke remembered him as. The once pressed blue suit and loafers was replaced with a gray tee-shirt, jeans, and flip-flops. He had a pin on his collar of a face with a wide-open mouth, and his once-neat spikes were now slightly disheveled.

"Hi, Mr. Nick!" Pearl said excitedly as Phoenix looked up when hearing the door. He grinned, putting the bottle on the table (Luke could now see the label said that it was a bottle of Grape Juice) and stood, hugging the girl. He then noticed the boy behind her.

"Luke?" he asked in surprise. Luke smiled weakly at him.

"Hi, Mr. Wright," he said. Phoenix smiled at him too, before glancing around.

"Is the Professor here?" he asked. Luke shook his head.

"No, my father is the archaeologist hired to study that artifact found in Kurain village, so..." he trailed off, looking away. Phoenix nodded.

"Right. Well, come in, come in. Are you two thirsty?" he asked. Luke glanced again at the bottle of grape juice before smiling.

"Yes. Water is fine," he said.

"I'll get it!" Pearl said, disappearing deeper into the office. Phoenix shook his head.

"I could have gotten it, Pearls!" he called after the girl. Pearl turned back and looked at Phoenix with a frown. Phoenix put his hands up defensively. "Alright, alright."

…

In the hour it took for the twins and Phoenix's daughter, Trucy, to get off school and to the office, Luke learned about that fateful trial a year ago where Phoenix lost his badge and adopted his daughter. He didn't learn about what happened between then and now, but he got the feeling Phoenix fell on some really hard times.

Finally, though, Trucy, Jade, and Ruby came in, and after a little longer, Luke and the Feys were back on the train, doing their homework and heading back to Kurain village.

…

A/N: Phoenix will become a larger part of this story, don't worry. As for what happened in the year between his loosing his badge and this story, I have a fanfiction for that, so don't worry!


	4. The Maze Stone

A/N: Here's another chapter! We finally get to learn about the Maze stones!

…

Chapter Four – The Maze Stone

Clark entered the small, traditional Japanese house, glancing around. It was around dinner time, five o'clock and he knew Luke should be getting home soon.

"Hey sweetie," Brenda said, kissing her husband on the cheek as he entered the kitchen. He smiled warmly at her.

"Hi. Luke home yet?" he asked.

"No," Brenda replied, checking the food on the stove.

"Ah. Okay," he replied, slipping into his office. In reality, it was already set up when the Tritons moved in by the previous archaeologist. It was strange for Clark, but he managed to make it his in the few days they've lived here so far as he went through the notes and pictures.

In an unsettling twist, though, he found more notes then just those on the Maze Stones. Apparently, there were–

"I'm home!" Luke called. Clark put his bag down on his desk and came back out into the dinning room with a warm smile.

"Hi, son. How was school?" he asked. Luke shrugged.

"Different. I miss learning from the professors at Gressensheller," he admitted. Brenda sighed softly, having been worried about that.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," she said. Luke shrugged.

"It's okay, I guess," he replied before following Brenda into the kitchen. Clark shook his head, watching after his son.

Clark had noticed a change in Luke when he went with Professor Layton and became his apprentice. Luke had thrived under the Professor, his brilliant brain being exercised and tested in ways normal schools couldn't. He also developed a great love for archeology and traveling, and his love for puzzles only grew.

Clark had decided to continue giving Luke puzzles and the archaeologist experience when they moved to the states, even if he wasn't Professor Layton.

"Do you have any homework you need to do after dinner?" Clark asked as the three finally sat down to eat. Luke looked up from his dinner, his mouth full of Brenda's delicious cooking, and shook his head. Clark smiled. "Good. I have to go back to the site after dinner. Want to come?"

"Are you serious!?" Luke asked excitedly, having managed to swallow his mouth full. Clark smiled warmly and nodded. "Okay!" the boy said excitedly.

…

"So you said you were hired to study a maze?"Luke asked as he followed Clark through the village. They passed Fey Manor on their way, and he waved to Pearl, who was out front, before turning back to his father.

"Not a maze. A Maze Stone," Clark clarified. Luke pulled out his notebook and studied his notes in it.

"Oh, like the Hemet Maze Stone!" he said excitedly. Clark smiled.

"Exactly."

"But, what is the Hemet Stone, dad?" Luke asked. He wrote the name down when Clark first told him about his new assignment, but he never got any more information on it.

"Well, the Hemet Maze stone is a large rock with a three foot by three foot petroglyph of a maze–"

"What's petroglyph?" Luke interrupted, his pen flying across a clean sheet of paper in his book as he followed Clark out of the village.

"A petroglyph is a carving in a rock," Clark explained patiently before continuing. "A maze. It was discovered in the early 1900s, but it's said to be over 2000 years old. One theory of its origin is that Native Americans carved it."

"What do you think?" Luke asked, catching the doubt in Clark's voice about that theory.

"Well, I've seen other Native American works from this area, and this petroglyph is nothing like their works. Cascadians, ancient ancestors of the Mayans, is another theory, but that would make this stone a lot older then 2000 years. I actually think the last theory is the closest to being correct."

"And what theory is that?"

"That they are of Chinese origin."

"Eeeeh?" Luke quickly looked up at his father, who had a thoughtful look on his face. "But that can't be right! Christopher Columbus discovered North America in 1492, and California was colonized only in 1850! That's way too late for these to be 2000 years old!

"True, but there is a theory that the west coast of North America, here, in these mountains, was discovered around 500 AD. The symbols in the Maze Stones is a very sacred symbol in Buddhism, representing eternity. Along with these stones are the discoveries of what is believed to be ancient Chinese anchors off the coast of California in the Pacific Ocean," Clark explained to his befuddled son. Despite not believing this theory that much, Luke quickly wrote it in his journal.

"There's also a fourth theory," Luke said thoughtfully, thinking back to his adventures with Professor Layton.

"Oh? What's that?" Clark asked.

"The Azran."

"Nope."

"What do you mean, 'nope'!?" Luke demanded angrily. Clark just smiled at him and pointed to a large stone that they stopped in front of.

"You know Azran technology better then me. Does that look Azran to you?" Clark asked. Luke quickly looked over, having not realized they were at the Kurain Maze Stone already. He quickly walked over and studied it. The large stone was surrounded by cleared-away brush, making walking around it a lot easier. On the top, etched deeply into the surface of the stone, was a five-by-five square with the most intricate maze Luke had ever seen.

"Wow..." he gasped, flipping to a clean sheet of paper in his book and attempting to copy it. Clark smiled.

"Don't worry about copying it. I have a few pictures and some charcoal rubbings of it," he said, handing a paper to Luke. Luke studied the paper before looking back at the maze again, his eyes alight with curiosity.

"It's like a puzzle, Dad!" he said excitedly. Clark laughed at his son's enthusiasm.

"It is. And this one is in much better condition then the Hemet one. It's actually quite the honor to work on this mystery," he said with a warm smile. Luke frowned.

"Dad, if it's such an honor, then why did the last archaeologist quit? And so suddenly too?" he asked. Clark flinched slightly at the question, Luke having asked the same question he's been wondering too. His thoughts wandered back to those other notes he found, and he suddenly wondered if it was a good idea to bring Luke out here.

"I'm not sure," he said vaguely. Luke knew his father though, and he knew he wasn't telling him something. "But Luke? Promise me you wont come out here without me," Clark finished, looking at his son with serious, stern eyes. Luke considered arguing, but finally conceded.

"Yes, Dad. But can I keep this?" he held up the paper with the maze transcribed onto it, and Clark smiled.

"Of course."

The two began to head back to the village when it started to grow dark, neither one closer to the truth of the maze then when they first got there.

Luke suddenly stopped, his eyes glued to the cliff above them.

"D-Dad!?" he called.

Above them staring at the maze stone they were just working with, was a large, humanoid figure. It must have been around seven or eight feet all, silhouetted against the twilit sky. It's shape was disfigured slightly by a cape and a top hat, and it seemed to be starring off into empty space, but Luke could feel the... the _thing's_ eyes on him.

"What is it, Luke?" Clark called from a little further away, turning to face the boy. Luke looked down at his father and pointed to the top of the cliff.

"There's something– EEHHH!?" Luke had turned back to the cliff, only to find the phantom figure gone. A sense of forbidding churned in Clark's stomach, but he didn't see anything.

"Perhaps it was a bear," he said soothingly to his son, wrapping an arm around him.

"A b-b-bear?" Luke stammered, shaken by his encounter with the figure.

"A bear. They're common in these parts. Either way, it's gone now, son. Let's head home."

…

Later that night, after Luke went to bed, Clark sat at his desk, going through Dr. Kingston's notes. There was a picture of the Hemet Maze stone, as well as the ones found in the Orange, Imperial, and San Diego counties, and of course, the Kurain stone. Each maze was made up of a different symbols, each a symbol in Tibetan. The first, the Hemet Maze, was made up of the symbol that meant "Eternity". The one in Imperial stood for "Wisdom," and the one in San Diego stood for "Meditation". Kingston figured that much out. Still, there were no hints about the ones in Orange county, or the Kurain stone.

Clark did realize, however, that the three known symbols all had to do with Buddhism, adding fire to his theory that they were left by Buddhist monks.

…

A/N: Tada!

Okay, so most of what I wrote about the Hemet stone is factual, including those three theories. The only things that weren't were (of course) the short-lived theory about the Azran, and that the stones in Imperial and San Diego counties stand for Wisdom and Meditation. The Hemet Stone does contain symbols that stand for Eternity, and it is believed they're left by Buddhist monks.

I also merged another legend from California into this, not just the Hemet stone.

Hope you enjoyed this!


	5. Investigations and Discoveries

A/N: Yet another chapter. Last set-up chapter! Promise!

…

Chapter Five – Investigations and Discoveries

Clark sighed, placing the large stack of books that he was carrying on table in a quite corner of the library. After being cooped up in Kurain Village for the past two weeks, studying the stone until he memorized every crack and mark and reading all of Dr. Kingston's notes, he decided it was time to visit the local archaeology university, Nodir University of California, and see if the library would be of any help.

This was his eighth stack of books, however, and so far, there had been nothing helpful about Buddhism or the ancient Chinese.

With a resigned sigh, he opened yet another book, adjusted the lamp on the table next to him, and began to read.

...

"I don't know about this, Luke," Pearl said following the boy as the two left the village and pulling her jacket around her to stave off the cold weather. Luke was sure to be careful, making sure his dad or anyone that would tell his dad, weren't around.

"It's okay, Pearl. If anything happens, I'll protect you! After all, a true gentleman always protects a lady," Luke said. Pearl smiled at that before shaking her head.

"That's not what I meant, Luke. It's just... your dad told you not to come out here without him, and Mystic Maya told me the same thing..." Pearl admitted.

"Hm... They're probably worried we're going to break something or mess something up. Don't worry though, I went to plenty of archaeology digs with Professor Layton! We'll be okay," Luke said with a smile. He thought back to that odd shape he saw the first night he was here with his dad, but shook his head.

They weren't going to stay until it got dark. After all, it was only ten in the morning. Thank god for Saturdays!

The two made it to the archeology site, where Luke went right over to the stone, studying the stone again. He knew there was a puzzle to it. Spending so long with Professor Layton on his adventures taught him that much. Where the puzzle was, however the question.

Pearl, however, was walking around the stone where the brush was cleared away, studying it from a different angle. She remembered how Mr. Nick would look at a case from a different angle and come up with a theory that turned out to be correct, or even evidence needed to prove his clients innocent.

That could work here, right?

Luke gently brushed his gloved fingers over the pattern of the maze, wondering if there was a starting and ending point to the maze. Could it be that simple?

"Luke! Look!" Pearl suddenly gasped from the other side of the rock. Luke looked up, searching for the girl, but she was hidden.

"Where–"

"Down here!" Pearl answered his incomplete question, lifting her arm and waving at him. Luke quickly stepped around the rock and knelt next to the girl. She pointed at something carved into the rock. Luke leaned closer, peering at it.

"I can see it... but it's in a different language," Luke sighed, sitting back on his heals.

"Aw..." Pearl sighed, puffing her cheeks out slightly. Luke pouted for a moment, hating how upset the girl looked, before getting an idea.

"I know! I'll write it down, and we can go to Nodir University! Dad said that the local archeology college around here. Maybe they can translate it!" Luke said, quickly copying what it said. He then stood and offered Pearl his hand, helping her up to. She smiled, accepting the help, and the two quickly made their way back to town.

…

Clark pulled the book closer, studying the picture in it better, before comparing it to the picture in his hand, that of the Maze Stone in Orange county.

"Enlightenment." That's what that one meant.

 _So we have Wisdom, Meditation, Eternity, and now Enlightenment. That leaves Kurain village_. Clark thought to himself as he made a note about it in his notebook. He then sighed and rubbed his eyes before looking once more at the small print in the book.

Maybe if he was lucky, this book would tell him about Kurain's symbol.

…

Luke and Pearl entered the large, imposing building that claimed to be the "Ancient Language" department. Unlike Gressensheller University, which Luke was used to, Nodir University was multiple buildings, and the two kids had already gotten lost once.

"So, who do you think will know how to read that?" Pearl asked, moving closer to Luke as a group of young adults rushed by. Luke wrapped an arm around her to make sure they wouldn't get separated.

"Hey, you're from Kurain Village, right?" A girl asked, spotting Pearl's kimono. She blushed, but nodded. "Didn't they find a Maze Stone there?"

"Yes. We need help translating something that was on it. Can you help?" Luke asked, jumping all over that. The girl looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking her head.

"No, sorry. You should try Dr. Volca though. He's the local expert on ancient languages. Just down this hall, room 1013. Good luck!" The girl said, walking away. Luke and Pearl grinned at each other before quickly finding Dr. Volca's office.

Thankfully, for a Saturday, he was in his office, and not busy. A friendly "Come in!" greeted Luke's knocking.

Inside the office, the walls were lined with books, and there was a map taped over one of the two windows behind the desk. Under the map, behind the desk, was a tall, skinny man who was studying the two kids that just entered his office over the rims of his glasses. Pearl couldn't help but compare his large nose to a beak.

"Why, you're just kids!" He said, before laughing. "Are you looking for something?"

"Are you Dr. Volca?" Luke asked. The man nodded, taking his glasses off, cleaning them, then placing them back on his face.

"That I am. What can I help you guys with?" he asked.

"Well, have you heard of the Kurain Maze Stone? It was just discovered a few months ago," Pearl asked. The older man's face morphed from open and friendly to clouded and sad. And a little angry?

"Yeah, I've heard of the Kurain Maze Stone. One of our professors was studying it," he said, leaning back in his chair. "Before he vanished."

"Wait, I thought Dr. Kingston just quit," Pearl said, surprised.

"Quit? He was given an unlimited sabbatical to study that thing, and next thing any of us know, his reports stop, and a week later, they hire this Dr. Clark Triton."

"Wait, if Dr. Kingston disappeared, what does that mean for my dad?" Luke asked, his eyes huge, the notebook forgotten. Instead, he was thinking of that figure he saw that first night.

"You're Dr. Triton's kid? Honestly, I'm not sure," Dr. Volca said, before realizing he was talking to two young middle schoolers. "I wouldn't worry though," he said weakly, realizing the damage is already done. He decided to change the topic. "What can I help you kids with?"

"Well, um... on that rock, we found something written, and we think it's in an ancient language," Luke said, trying to get his mind off that figure. He pulled the notebook out, opened it to the right page, and handed it to the professor.

The older man studied the words for a few minutes before standing and walking over to one of his many bookshelves, finding and pulling a specific one down.

"It looks like first-century Tibetan. You said this was on the Kurain Maze Stone?"

"Yes. I found it. It was on the back, on the bottom," Pearl said with a smile. Luke smiled at that, letting her take the credit that was due to her.

"Hm... Well," the man began to mumble to himself, writing things under the original line, crossing out, and correcting himself until finally he nodded to himself. "Got it!"

"Well, what does it mean?" Luke asked.

" _'The road to unimaginable wisdom will unlock only once you solve the five puzzles_.' Basically," Dr. Volca said, returning the notebook to Luke. He glanced down and noticed that the professor had written that for him.

"Thank you, sir," Luke said, tipping his hat to the man. He smiled.

"No problem. And kid? Don't worry about your dad. I'm sure everything will be okay," the professor said. Luke forced a smile and nodded to the man, following Pearl out and back to the train.

…

Clark sighed, putting his head on the table. He went through every single book on Buddhism and Ancient Tibetan and Ancient Chinese he could find, which was a lot, but could not figure out the Kurain Maze Stone symbol at all.

And the words were starting to swim in front of his eyes.

The issue was, Clark was starting to realize, was that the symbol didn't look Chinese, Tibetan, or Buddhist. He picked his head off the table and rubbed his temples before studying the picture again. Finally, he put the picture down again and stood, stretching.

"Maybe another day," he sighed, putting all his books away and stepping into the sun-lit courtyard. This college campus was a lot bigger then Gressensheller University, and it took him a little while to find his way back to the train station.

What he found there, however, surprised him. Sitting on a bench together, waiting on the train, were Luke and Pearl, sitting very close together. He watched as Pearl leaned her head closer to Luke's, and smiled at the image. He then walked further down the platform, deciding to leave them be.

…

"Okay, here's the riddle," Luke said with a smile, moving the notebook closer to Pearl so she can read. He had the answer written on a different page. She leaned her head closer to his to read it better. "There are two answers, okay?"

"Okay?" she said, waiting.

"Okay. 'What falls, but never breaks?' That's the first question. The second is 'What breaks, but never falls?'" Luke said, carefully pulling out the page to give to Pearl. She smiled and took it, studying the two questions.

"Hm..."

"If you need a hint, let me know. But no cheating, okay? And you can take as long as you need," Luke said. Pearl looked a little insulted that he'd suggest she'd cheat, but then smiled at him.

"Okay!"

…

A/N: Okay, a lot happened in this chapter! Of course it wouldn't be a Professor Layton fanfiction without a few puzzles. I don't know what I'm going to do with the five puzzles. I also forget where I've heard that two part riddle that Luke told Pearl at the end, so... I didn't make it though, so I don't take that credit!

Also, Nodir University is a fictional college of my own creation.

Things are starting to move now! NEXT CHAPTER!


	6. Taken

Chapter Six – Taken

It had been a week since Luke and Pearl had went to Nodir University. After school, Luke alternated between going to the Kurain Maze Stone with Clark, and hanging out at Fey Manor with Pearl. Neither he nor his father discovered anything new, but Luke couldn't forget what the words on the back of the stone translated to.

 _The road to unimaginable wisdom will unlock only once you solve the five puzzles_.

Those five puzzles could only mean the five different five Maze Stones. Luke tried over and over to figure out the puzzle of the Kurain Maze Stone, so much that he forgot about the dark figures.

Finally, admitting defeat, for now, he decided to write Professor Layton. Along with the letter, he added a puzzle he made (the Professor would love that!) and a compilation of his notes that he's taken since Clark first told him about the Hemet Maze Stone. The next day, he dropped the letter into the mailbox before getting on the train with Pearl, Jade, and Ruby.

"So, did you figure out the riddle yet?" Luke asked Pearl, who frowned slightly.

"Not yet, no. But I will!" she exclaimed.

"Do you want a hint?" Luke asked slyly, only to be on the receiving end of one of Pearl's scowls.

"No!"

"Okay, okay!" Luke laughed, putting his hands up defensively.

...

Luke didn't know what woke him up. Glancing at his bedside table, he saw that it was two in the morning on his alarm clock.

So why was he wide awake?

Unlike London, or any city for that matter, it was pitch black and oppressively silent in Kurain Village. There were no street lights to shine into his windows, no cars or buses, nothing.

 _Squuuueeeeaaaak_...

Luke bolted up in bed, recognizing the strangled scream of the squeaky third step of the staircase. Both him and his parents knew and avoided that step like the plague.

Which means there was someone in his house that shouldn't be.

" _Shit!"_ a voice hissed. Luke carefully slid out of his bed and padded over to the door, getting down on his hands and knees and looking through the gap between the floor and the bottom of the door. There were more shapes coming up the steps then he could count, especially since they seemed to blend together.

" _Shut up! You'll wake them up!"_

" _It's not like they can call for help. No phone service."_

" _Still, taking them will be easier if they're still asleep_. _"_

Luke clamped his hands over his mouth before he could let out a gasp. He had a few options open to him right now. Yell and wake his parents up, but who knew what these people would do to them in that case?

Or escape.

At least, if he did that, he'd be able to get help and rescue his parents. He quickly and silently stood, locking his door and putting a chair against it, just in case. He then went to work. He'd seen Professor Layton make all kinds of things out of random things. He could do the same, right? Looking around, he took inventory.

Fishing equipment. Sheets and blankets. A sled. A loose leg on his chair. And a binder.

He darted over to his window and looked out.

It was snowing. Already, there was about five feet laying on the ground.

Perfect.

Working fast, he grabbed his satchel and threw on the light house jacket he had and slippers. His shoes and winter coat were all downstairs, so he would have to deal with the cold. He quickly tied the binder to the end of loose leg chair, pushing his dresser in front of the door instead, to make a makeshift oar. He then turned to his bed, stripping it of the sheet and blanket, and made two parachutes, using fishing cord from the fishing equipment. Finally, he wrapped both of them around himself. He then put the oar in the sled and dropped them both out the window before following them.

Landing in the thick snow softened his fall from the second story of the house, but the cold and wet immediately soaked through his cotton PJ pants and slippers. Ignoring that the best he could, he began to run, pushing the sled, until he reached the downward slope at the end of the small yard.

"There he goes!" A voice yelled from behind, muffled by the distance and snow. Luke jumped into the sled and glanced back, seeing the large dim shapes of the intruders and two smaller ones of his parents in the headlights from Snowmobiles.

"No!" he gasped, before using the oar to push off a tree, sending the sled rocketing down the mountain.

Something Luke didn't take into account was all of the trees, and after only a few minutes of using the "oar" to steer, the binder snapped off and the chair leg was ripped from Luke's hands. Luke desperately leaned from side to side, managing to just barely avoid tree trunks. He wasn't so lucky with the branches though, and earned more then a few bruises and cuts.

Behind him, the roar of snowmobiles kept him moving forward. He glanced back only once, which was nearly the end of him. He clipped a tree trunk, which sent the sled spinning away. Before Luke could straighten it, though, the ground was suddenly gone. Luke gasped and quickly deployed his first parachute, clutching the sled with numb fingers.

He flew over a two lane road before landing on the next hill. Down this one, there were no trees, letting Luke sigh in relief, believing he left his snowmobile bound perusers behind.

Until about four snowboarders launched themselves after him, landing close to him.

"EEEEEHHH!?" Luke cried, flattening himself against the bottom as something whizzed by his ear. Peeking up, he saw that the barrel of the gun was painted orange. What did that mean again? It was an airsoft gun. A pellet gun.

Not lethal, but still hurt. Luke flattened himself again, willing for the sled to go faster. No luck though. One of the snowboarders swerved closer, attempting to grab the sled. Luke noticed this though, and threw the first parachute out at him.

"WHOA!" he yelled, getting tangled in the sheet and swerving to the side, taking one of his companions out as well. Luke's grin was short lived, however.

"CLIFF!" came a yell from the other side of the sled, where the other two snowboarders were. He glanced over, watching as they peeled away, before looking forward.

There was indeed, a cliff. A sheer drop of about 40 yards straight down. Luke grimly unwrapped the blanket parachute from around him and carefully pulled his feet under him.

With timing only possibly attained when pumped with adrenaline, Luke jumped from the sled, which launched him up more then if he had jumped at any other moment. He plummeted towards the ground for a few seconds before he opened the parachute. The fishing-line cut into his numb hands, and tears of fear, pain, and cold clouded his eyes, but Luke drifted down the 40 yards and away from the men who were pursuing him.

Away from the mountain, California was as warm as ever. This meant that Luke's landing in a field wasn't cushioned by snow. He cried out as his ankles and knees gave out on him, and crumpled to the ground, sobbing. The blanket drifted over him, protecting him from prying eyes.

Unlike Kurain Village, there was lights and sound and people in Los Angeles at 2:45 in the morning.

…

A/N: Poor Luke!


	7. Great Thief, Prosecutor, and Professor

A/N: I feel like no one is reading this.

OH WELL! ONTO CHAPTER SEVEN!

…

Chapter Seven – The Great Thief, The Prosecutor, and Professor Layton

Kay Faraday, also known as the Great Thief Yatagarasu, slid from shadow to shadow, her side pouch heavy with a CD she lifted from the corrupt company Dalv Inc. She always suspected the owner made his millions illegally, and this just proved it.

Her apartment, also known as her hideout, sat in a quieter part of town, closer to the mountains. This was where she was heading when she saw the oddest site.

There was a blanket laying in a field, a small, shaking and sobbing lump in the middle. Kay carefully walked over, putting her hand on the stun baton she now carried (What Mr. Edgeworth didn't know wouldn't kill her.) She then ripped back the blanket.

"AAAAHHH!" the young boy who had just been hidden cried, lurching backwards and away from Kay. She dropped the blanket to the side.

"Whoa, whoa! I won't hurt you! Promise!" she quickly said, putting her hands up defensively. The boy looked up at her, his eyes wide, while Kay took in his appearance. His pajamas, jacket, and slippers were really ripped up, his hair disheveled, and he was soaked and shivering. There were cuts and bruises all over his face, torso, and arms, and there were cuts on his hands.

Looking closer, Kay could see the fishing wire wrapped around his hands, embedded in the cuts. She followed them and found them tied to the corners of the blanket.

"What... happened to you?" she asked.

"I... I..." the boy started, before bursting into frightened tears. Kay knelt down next to the boy, realizing he's been through a traumatizing experience.

"Okay, okay, let's get you back to my hideout. I'll call someone who can help you," Kay said, carefully peeling the fishing wire out of his cuts. The boy didn't even seem to notice, just let her. Once that was done, she carefully folded the blanket up and put it under her arm, then helped the boy up.

As soon as he put weight on his left leg though, he cried out and staggered to the side. Kay caught him, realizing he couldn't be older then thirteen. Shaking her head, she pulled his left arm around her neck and half-supported, half-carried him back to her apartment.

...

Miles Edgeworth groaned as his phone went off, rolling away from it in an attempt to ignore it. However, it kept ringing and ringing until he finally opened his eyes and glared at the small piece of technology. Kay Faraday's picture grinned back at him, under the large red numbers of his alarm clock that declared it to be 3:30 in the morning. He snatched the phone up and opened it, answering the call.

"What?" he growled into the mouth piece.

" _Mr. Edgeworth, sorry for waking you up, but I need your help,_ " Kay replied breathlessly.

"I am not bailing you out of jail, Kay," Edgeworth grumbled, his free hand searching for his glasses.

" _The Great Thief Yatagarasu will never be arrested!_ " Kay snapped back. " _No, actually, I found this kid not too far from my hideout. He um... he said he parachuted here from Kurain Village. And that his parents were kidnapped..."_

"Did you say Kurain?" Edgeworth asked, finally finding his glasses and putting them on his face before getting up. He had a very confusing mixture of emotions about that place.

" _Yeah. Um, how fast can you get here?_ "

"I'm leaving now."

 _Click_

…

Edgeworth studied the poor boy sitting in Kay's dinning room. His eyes were still full of tears, and Kay had cleaned and bandaged his injuries, but he still looked exhausted. Kay, thankfully, had called him back and asked him to bring a shirt and shorts, which the boy now wore while his ripped, wet clothes hung to dry in the bathroom.

"His name is Luke," Kay explained softly, putting a mug of tea in front of the boy. Luke mechanically picked up the mug and sipped it. "His father is an archaeologist who was studying that newly discovered Kurain Maze Stone."

"That again?" Edgeworth said thoughtfully. About two months ago, he had been looking into the mysterious disappearance of one Dr. Gregory Kingston. He too, had bee studying that Maze Stone, though the museum made sure to keep Kingston's disappearance out of the media.

Probably because no one else would take the job.

"You know it?" Luke asked, finally looking up at the boy. Hearing Luke's accent, Edgeworth finally realized why the boy asked for tea rather then warm milk or something like that.

"Yes. There was a case related to it not too long ago."

"Dr. Kingston?" Luke asked. Edgeworth nodded.

"Yes."

"He disappeared. And now, so has Mum and Dad..." Luke said, squeezing the mug. The tears in his eyes spilled over. "No one found him... Whose going to find Mum and Dad?" Luke demanded. Edgeworth hesitated just a moment too long.

"Los Angeles' finest will start searching right away."

"You wont find them though. You're not even sure!" Luke yelled, sniffling.

"Luke..." Edgeworth tried, while Kay frowned at him.

"I wish Professor Layton was here! He'd find them!" Luke sobbed, pushing the tea away and burying his face in his arms.

"Wait, Professor Hershal Layton? You're Luke _Triton_?" Edgeworth said, surprised. Luke didn't answer, but Kay looked at him curiously.

"You know him?" she asked.

"Of him. Phoenix Wright, however, knows Luke and the Professor. I'll go call him."

...

 _Three Days Later_

Professor Layton sat in his somewhat messy office at Gressensheller University, enjoying a cup of his favorite tea, his hat resting on a crate next to his desk, when Rosa, the housemaid of the university, knocked.

"Letter for you, Professor. Now you better not run off like you did before!" she warned good-naturedly.

Professor Layton laughed, taking the offered envelope.

"No promises there, Rosa," he said with a smile before sitting back at his cluttered desk. On the top were all kinds of things; papers, maps, journals and books, leaving only a small space open for his tea to rest, and for him to grade paper. It was in this spot that he laid the envelope down to take a sip of his tea.

Looking back at it, he finally read the return address.

'Luke Triton

32 Uphill Way

Kurin Village, California, 99965'

With renewed interest, Professor Layton picked up the envelope, and pulled out the first of three papers, reading the first one.

'Dear Professor Layton,

It's been a while since we said good-bye. How have you been?

As for me, I'm all settled in and making new friends. I'm writing to you because something deeply puzzling happened here recently. It seems like the sort of mystery that's tailor made for Professor Layton and his apprentice. I don't think anyone else could get to the bottom of it.

I've inclosed a document with this letter that will tell you more about the situation.

I can't wait to start this new adventure with you!

Please write back as soon as you get this letter!

You're friend and apprentice, Luke."

The professor turned to the two other papers from the envelop, noticing first the puzzle Luke had included. With an indulgent smile, he set to work doing it, finding the answer in no time.

"After all," he said softly to himself. "A true gentleman leaves no puzzle unsolved. Especially not those made by their dearest friends."

He then turned to the last paper and read, his curiosity growing stronger with each word.

Finally, he refolded the paper and placed them on top of the envelop next to his tea and looked out the window with a smile before standing, making up his mind.

Looks like he couldn't keep his promise to Rosa after all.


	8. Professor Layton

A/N: Guess whose back! Finally on winter break and ready to write away!

Here we go!

…

Chapter Eight – Professor Layton

 _A Week Later_

Since his disbarment a year ago, Phoenix hadn't really cared much about how he appeared to people. However, he now stood at the port, his spikes actually neat, and wearing a pair of sneakers with his hoody and jeans, rather then flip-flops, alongside Maya, Miles, Kay, Pearl, and Luke. They were waiting for Professor Layton's ship to arrive, and in the short time Phoenix and Hershal had known each other, the good professor had earned Phoenix's respect.

Luke, who was sitting thanks to his sprained ankle, earned during his parachuting experience, leaned against Pearl. Since finding out about his harrowing experience, Pearl had stuck close to her friend.

"How's Luke been?" Phoenix asked Miles, moving closer to the prosecutor. The men who had attacked the Tritons knew Luke had escaped, so everyone decided it was smarter for the boy to stay with Miles, who had the most police connections, and away from Kurain Village.

"Still shaken," Miles admitted, crossing his arms and watching Pearl and Luke together. "Despite the danger he'd been in before, he never had to face it alone. And now, because Dr. Kingston was never found, he feels his parents won't be either."

"The Professor will make him feel better," Phoenix said, thinking back to Layton's and Luke's relationship. Miles, who had heard plenty about the Professor from Luke, nodded.

"He does seem fond of him…" Miles said softly, crossing his arms.

On the horizon, a ship drifted into sight. Phoenix and Miles, the tallest of the group, spotted it first, and Kay spotted it soon after.

"There it is!" She said brightly. Luke quickly looked up, standing, without thinking His ankle twinged in protest, and he staggered slightly, but Pearl caught him under the arm.

"Careful," she said. Luke nodded, giving her a small smile, before looking out over the water. The ship quickly moved closer, until finally it docked. The gangplank lowered, and the passengers began to come ashore.

Soon, the top of a top-hat was bobbing through a crowd, marking the location of the one they were waiting for.

"Professor!" Luke cried, limping forward. Pearl followed close to make sure he'd be okay. Professor Layton was looking around the dock, trying to find his way to where they unloaded the cars, when he was suddenly tackled from the side in a hug. "Professor!" the young boy in blue cried, sobbing into the older man's chest.

"Luke?" the professor asked, completely bewildered. Pearl stopped a few feet short, watching. She'd been worried for her friend for the past week and a half, and she wanted nothing more to comfort him, but she understood that this was something between the Professor and Luke.

"My boy? What's wrong?" Professor Layton asked, taking a step back to look down at him. That was when he noticed the healing bruises on the boy's face and bandaged hands. "Luke, what happened?" He looked around, dread filling him. "Where are Clark and Brenda?"

Luke, who had started to calm down slightly, looked up at the professor, his eyes filling with tears once more. Without a word, he just threw his arms around the professor again, burying his face in the man's shirt.

"Hello, Professor," Phoenix said softly, having followed the two kids. Layton looked up, slightly surprised at the voice. It was one he hadn't heard for just over a year.

"Mr. Wright?" he said. Phoenix nodded with a small smile, before looking down at Luke.

"His parents were kidnapped about a week and a half ago. Apparently the same day he sent out a letter to you," Phoenix said. Professor Layton gasped softly in surprise, looking down at his young friend. "They attacked Luke too, but he managed to get away on a sled he modified and with two parachutes he made."

"Oh my," Layton said softly, before kneeling down in front of Luke. "Do you think this have to do with the Maze Stones, my boy?" he asked. Luke nodded, sniffling slightly.

"The first time Dad took me to see the Maze Stone, I saw a figure. It was a big, and dark, and human, and it just vanished the second I looked away! And the last professor who was researching these things disappeared too!" Luke explained, all in one breath. Professor nodded, putting a hand to his chin in a thoughtful way.

"Has their been any clues? To either disappearance?" he asked.

"Unfortunately, no." Miles had walked over in time to hear Luke's explanation, Kay and Maya right behind him. "This is the second time the police has searched that house, but they didn't find anything."

"Mr. Edgeworth has been working hard," Luke admitted. "I've been staying with him, because he's a Prosecutor, who can protect me."

Professor Layton nodded, studying the group in front of him. He was surprised at the changes in Phoenix and Maya in just a year. They looked like totally different people. The little girl, hovering close to Luke seemed open and honest, if not sometimes a little too serious, and the other young woman, who had her long, dark hair pulled back, was interesting. Layton spotted the three legged bird pin on her scarf, which he recognized instantly as the symbol of the Great Thief, Yatagarasu. Finally, he looked at the last man in the group, the one with dark-silver hair.

"Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth?" he asked, recognizing his face from the newspaper. Miles smiled slightly at the recognition, having done some legal work in London while abroad to learn about other legal systems.

"Yes, that's me. It's nice to finally meet the famous Professor Hershal Layton, face to face. Scotland Yard spoke highly of you," he said, reaching forward and shaking hands with the professor. Professor Layton smiled slightly before looking back down at Luke.

"Thank you for taking care of Luke, Mr. Edgeworth," he said. Luke, finally having his emotions in check, looked up at the professor with a slightly watery smile. Now that Professor Layton was here, Luke knew that everything was going to be okay.

"We should head back to my place, where we can explain more," Miles said.

"Um, we all didn't fit in your car coming. How are we all getting back?" Phoenix asked. Professor Layton chuckled, finally spotting his beloved Laytonmobile as the workers unloaded it.

"Some of you can ride with me," he said, pointing to it. The group looked over, watching as it was carefully lowered onto the shore. Luke smiled at it, remembering the last time he rode in it.

"Professor," he started as he limped behind the man.

"Yes, my boy?"

"Can the Laytonmobile still fly?" he asked. The Professor just chuckled, while Phoenix and Maya looked at each other, following him.

"His car can _fly_?" Maya hissed to Phoenix, who just shrugged.

"I don't know?"

…

A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the wait! Winter break started last week, but for some reason, this chapter just did NOT want to be written. I don't know if it's because I didn't write an outline for this story or not, but no worries, I am now!

I want to have this story complete by January 18th. That is my goal for this story (which will be longer then the rest of mine, so…)

ONTO THE… outline… THEN THE NEXT CHAPTER!


	9. The Search Begins

A/N: Here's another chapter! Now that the story if fully outlined, it should go by fairly quickly! It looks like there will be 21 chapters total!

Well, here we go!

…

Chapter Nine – The Search Begins

The first thing the group did was return to Kurain Village. Luke stuck close to the Professor as they went, this being the first time since his escape that he's returned to the village.

"Miss. Fey, didn't you notice anything odd the night of the Tritons' disappearance?" the Professor asked as they walked through the village. Maya thought for a moment before shaking her head.

"No. But then again, I was in the Channeling Chamber almost all night. We have a few clients who come and ask for channelings around that time, so that wasn't odd at all," Maya explained. She thought for a moment more. "Although… this client had come to me before, and that is a little strange," she admitted.

"It's not often Mystic Maya summons someone for the same person more then once," Pearl added.

"And we kept the investigation of Dr. Kingston quiet, even from the Feys, once we ascertained that they were in no way related," Miles added. Professor Layton nodded, stopping in front of the house surrounded by yellow police tape.

"May I, Mr. Edgeworth?" he asked. Miles nodded, holding the tape up so that the group could enter. There were no police around, so the group had free reign. Professor Layton first went to Clark and Brenda's room, but like the police, he didn't find anything noteworthy.

"Hmm," he mused, looking around. It was hard for him to believe that the kidnappers left no clues, but here he stood, empty handed. "And you're sure the police found no clues, Mr. Edgeworth?" he asked. Miles shook his head.

"None at all."

"Did you look in the study?" Luke asked suddenly. The Professor and Miles both looked at him.

"We did, but we didn't find anything there either," he admitted, sounding frustrated at the fact.

"Hm… I'd like to see this study," Layton said. Luke nodded enthusiastically, leading the way out of the bedroom, down the hall, and to a different door, Pearl following after those two. Edgeworth, on the other hand, realized that Phoenix, Maya, and Kay were no where to be found. He walked downstairs.

Phoenix was studying the front door, mainly the door knob, while Maya hovered over his shoulder, giving him "helpful" suggestions. Meanwhile, Kay was walking around the hall, studying everything and putting data into Little Thief.

"Find anything?" Miles asked Phoenix first, knowing he would have better luck the Kay.

"There are little scratches here, right around the lock," Phoenix pointed out. Miles glanced at the door, then shrugged, shaking his head.

"They're from the key, Wright. You'll find that on any door knob," he said. Phoenix looked over at his oldest friend and rival, and for a minute, Miles saw the defiant spark of the old defense attorney in him.

"These are from the key, Edgeworth," Phoenix said, pointing to the thicker scratches. " _These,"_ he pointed to small, needle thin scratches, "are from a lock pick, like this one." Phoenix held up a small lock pick, letting Miles compare it to the scratches.

"You're right," Miles said with some surprise, taking the lock pick. "Where'd you find this?"

"Kay let me borrow it to compare it to the scratches," Phoenix said, putting his hands in his hoodie pocket with a self satisfied grin. It'd been a while since he managed to best the Prosecutor, and it felt good.

"She's going to teach me to pick locks when all of this is over!" Maya interjected with a huge grin.

"Riiiiiight…" Miles said, looking at the enthusiastic Master.

"Just don't get yourself arrested, Maya," Phoenix said, exasperation entering his voice.

"I won't!" Maya replied hotly. Miles shook his head at the two, making a note of the scratches, before turning to his own assistant, leaving those two to bicker.

"Find anything?" he asked. Kay frowned at the device in her hands.

"No. There's no data at all about either incidents," she said in frustration. "No data, no recreations. And any data for after the kidnappings would make the house look exactly as it does now."

"Hm. Well, that does make this a little harder," Miles sighed.

Meanwhile, Professor Layton was in Clark's study, combing through the papers on his desk, while Luke sat next to him, making notes on what the Professor said, condensing and summarizing everything that has been found about the Maze Stones so far. Pearl watched her friend, amazed at how focused he seemed to be on his task.

"Hm… That seems to be the last of it," Professor Layton finally said, putting the papers down. "Do you see anything out of the ordinary, my boy?" he asked, looking over at his apprentice. Luke looked up, blinking a few times to adjust his eyes after staring at the paper and words, and looked around. He'd been in here quite a few times with his dad, and since they'd enter, something has been bothering him.

"There's something…" Luke said, his eyes falling onto the bookshelf. He stood and limped over, studying it. "Here, Professor!" he suddenly exclaimed, his eyes going wide as he remembered. "The last shelf is empty!"

"Was there something there before?" the professor asked, coming over and studying it. He didn't even need Luke to answer though. The dust on the last shelf was a lot thinner then on any of the other shelves.

"This shelf was full, Professor! There were notebooks, like the kind Dad took his research notes in. I think they were Dr. Kingston's and I wasn't allowed to read them, and now they're just… gone." Luke frowned, studying the shelf. "The dust is thinner here. Why didn't the police notice this?" he asked. Professor Layton shook his head, wondering the same thing.

"Well, this must mean that who ever kidnapped your parents and Dr. Kingston are interested in the Maze Stones. That is the connection between all of the victims, after all, and if some of the research is missing…" Professor Layton trailed off, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "However, why would they go through all of this? There has to be more," he mumbled. Luke smiled.

"That must the famous Professor Layton intuition!" he said brightly, flipping through his notebook. At Professor Layton's words, he remembered the message on the back of the Kurain Maze stone that Pearl had found.

Apparently, she did too.

"The unimaginable wisdom!" she gasped, one of her hands jumping up to in front of her mouth.

"Pardon?" Professor Layton asked, turning to the girl. Luke, finding the right page, showed Professor Layton the message they got translated by Dr. Volca.

"Pearl found this on the back of the Kurain Maze Stone," he said. Professor Layton studied both the original message and the translation before nodding with a small smile.

"Then I know where to start," he said, leading the two back downstairs, Luke leaning on Pearl for help.

Phoenix and Maya, done with their bickering, were studying the back door now, while Miles and Kay inspected the living room. All four looked up at the sound of the three on the steps, however.

"Whoever kidnapped Clark, Brenda, and Dr. Kingston did so because of the Maze Stones," Professor Layton announced. Miles nodded.

"That makes sense. It was the only connection between the three of them. The police suspected as much," he said. Layton nodded with a smile towards the man.

"There is also some research missing, which is another clue. I plan to solve the puzzle of these Maze Stones. I feel it will lead to our missing people."

"I need to stay in Los Angeles, regrettably," Miles sighed. He would have liked to go with the famous professor, but with the demands of being a high Prosecutor, he had another important case he couldn't really give to a different prosecutor. Maya sighed as well. Being the new Master meant she couldn't go with the Professor either.

"Yes! Another adventure for Professor Layton and his Ace Apprentice!" Luke said happily. Professor Layton, however, sighed.

"I'm sorry, my boy, but not this time," he said.

"EEEEEEEHHHH!?" Luke looked at his old mentor, his eyes wide and hurt.

"You need to stay home and rest your ankle so that it'll mend." Professor Layton came over and kneeled in front of Luke, putting a hand on his shoulder. "We wouldn't want you to hurt it more, would we?"

"B-but Professor…" Luke said, his eyes starting to water. Hershal gave the boy's shoulder a squeeze.

"I promise, I will find your parents," he said, before standing.

"So, you plan on going alone?" Phoenix asked.

"I was rather hoping you would join me, Mr. Wright," the professor said, turning to the ex-defense attorney.

"Wait, what?" Phoenix asked.

"I think that's a good idea, actually," Miles said. He knew Phoenix and how doing nothing but 'playing the piano' at the Borsch Club wasn't doing him any favors. In fact, Miles could see how Phoenix going with the Professor and helping people in need once more would be good for his friend.

"Edgeworth… what kind of father would I be if I just took off wondering around California?" Phoenix demanded. Professor Layton looked over at his old friend with some surprise, knowing that Phoenix wasn't a father when they last met.

Miles shook his head with a shrug and a smirk that said the answer should be painfully obvious. "I can watch Trucy while you and Professor Layton handle this," he said.

"And when you go to work? You can't take a ten year old into the courtroom with you," Phoenix shot back.

"You used to take Pearl with you."

"That was different. Ninty-eight percent of the time, she was channeling Mia."

"And the two percent of the time when she wasn't?"

"I didn't really control that."

Everyone watched the two go back and forth like they were watching a tennis match… or a trial. All that was missing were the pointing fingers, shouts of " _OBJECTION!_ " and the bewildered Judge.

" _OBJECTION!_ " Maya yelled, knowing that was the only way to break into these fights. Edgeworth, who had a response at the tip of his tongue, turned to look at the Spirit Medium with surprise.

"What, Maya?" Phoenix asked.

"When Mr. Edgeworth is at work, _I'll_ watch Trucy." Maya said. "In fact, if you want Mr. Edgeworth, she can just stay at Fey Manor. She's so comfortable there already," she added. Phoenix frowned slightly, before sighing. The thought of helping the Tritons was an appealing one, if he were to be honest with himself.

"Well… alright," he sighed.

"Well, with that decided, our first stop is Imperial County," Professor Layton said. Phoenix nodded.

"After I grab a few things from my apartment," Phoenix added.

…

Luke watched as the Laytonmobile drove off without him, sighing sadly. It wasn't fair. He understood why Professor Layton wanted him to stay behind, but it still wasn't fair. He took a deep breath, heading back into Miles' house. The prosecutor was in the kitchen with Kay, where she was complaining that the dirt she had on Dalv Inc had just disappeared.

"Perhaps it's for the better. I hear that the CEO and founder is not one to cross," Miles replied.

"But what about the _truth_ , Mr. Edgeworth!?" Kay demanded.

"We will find it, Kay, believe me. I've been looking into them too."

Their voiced faded as Luke walked upstairs.

"Are you okay?" Pearl asked, sitting on the bed. She had decided to come with him to make sure he'd be alright, after seeing how upset he was. Maya had stayed in Kurain Village.

"I should have went with them," Luke said with a frown, thinking. He suddenly got an idea and fished his train pass out. "Hey Pearl… how far does this take us?" he asked.

"Anywhere in California. Why?" she said. Luke grinned.

"Perfect." He carefully stood and limped over to the closet. He had bought some stuff back from the house earlier, and was now packing a bag of things he'd need for the trip.

"You're planning on following them, aren't you?" Pearl asked, standing.

"And why not? I know about the Maze Stones. I'd been helping Dad all this time, and I have all of his research right here," Luke said with a frown, touching his satchel. Pearl nibbled on her thumbnail.

"Luke, wait," she said.

"Don't try to stop me, Pearl," Luke said before she could continue. Pearl huffed, stomping her foot.

"I wasn't going to do that at all!" she snapped. "If we want to follow them, we need to splint your ankle so it'll heal faster," she said. Luke, nearly dropping his bag, turned and looked at his friend.

"Wait, you're coming too? I don't know, Pearl. A true gentleman never puts a lady in danger," he said. Pearl smiled.

"Well, it's a good thing you're not a gentleman yet, right? Come on, sit and let me splint your ankle."

…

"It's close to dinner time, Kay. Can you go get those two so we can decide what we're going to eat?" Miles said, standing from the table and looking through his cabinets. He was secretly glad Kay lost that disk full of Dalv secrets. He didn't want her to get hurt, after all, and people who tended to cross that company did. That's why they had to be smart about how they looked into it.

"Sure," the thief said, hopping up and heading up the stairs. Miles pulled down a few things, setting them on the table for the kids to pick. He was in the middle of checking the expiration date on a jar of marinara sauce when Kay's cry of shock from upstairs caused him to drop it.

"Kay!?" he called, darting out of the kitchen and up the steps, two at a time.

Kay stood, framed in the door to the guest room, looking around frantically. Miles gently pushed her aside so he could enter.

The window was open, and Pearl and Luke were gone. Sitting on the bed was a note. Miles quickly scooped it up and read.

 _Dear Mr. Edgeworth and Miss. Faraday,_

 _Please don't be mad. Pearl and I decided to go after the professor and Mr. Wright. These are my parents, and I know more about the Maze Stones then either of them. Pearl wouldn't let me go alone, so she came along as well._

 _Thanks for everything,_

 _Luke._

Miles cursed, whipping out his cell phone.

"What are you going to do?" Kay asked, watching him.

"I'm calling Wright to let him know to keep an eye out for those two," he said, striding back downstairs and to the mess in his kitchen.

…

A/N: Another chapter done! Poor Miles. Does something nice, and it blows up in his face. OH WELL!

Somehow, though, I just can't imagine Miles cooking. I keep picturing a maid or a cook or SOMETHING, but... I knew that wouldn't be realistic.

Also, we couldn't have Kay spilling Dalv's secrets yet, could we? After all, it's not until between _The Phantom Turnabout_ and _Turnabout to Revenge_ that the CEO's secrets are revealed...

Next chapter, coming up!


	10. Imperial County

A/N: So, here's the next chapter! I have a plan on updating every other day (except for Christmas and New Years). This story WILL be done before January 18th, promise!

 **Disclaimer:** This story, as I'm sure you can tell from previous chapters, will take place in other Counties, not just Los Angeles. However, I will not be doing research on these, especially since the only Maze Stone I can find info on is the Hemet Stone. Because of this, there is no factual basis about these stones, except for the fact that they do exist.

Now that that's out of the way, we will continue!

…

Chapter Ten – Imperial County

The little red car, old fashioned, yet tall for its model, made good time as it followed the road southeast. Professor Layton, so used to the driving customs of London, was finding it strange to keep his car on the right side of the road. Phoenix watched out the window.

"What happened since we last met, Mr. Wright?" Hershal finally asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"What do you mean?" Phoenix asked, turning to look at the man.

"Well, you and Ms. Maya are a lot different from how I remember. And you have a daughter now. A ten year old daughter," the professor said. He had an idea, but not enough clues to put together the full story yet.

"Ah. That." Phoenix sighed, sitting up a little straighter in his seat. "It must have been about a month after Maya and I got back from London. Maya started her training to become the Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique, and I… had another case. A murder case.

"This one was different. The defendant, Shadi Enigma, had another lawyer, but he fired him, then hired me after playing Poker with me. The morning of the trial, I got one last piece of evidence, delivered to me by Mr. Enigma's daughter."

"That sounds a little fishy," the professor said, watching the signs to find his exit.

"I should have realized that too," Phoenix said bitterly. "When I presented it in court… well, the prosecutor, Mr. Gavin, knew. He requested the courtroom cleared and bought in a special witness. A forger." Phoenix shook his head once more in disgust, thinking back to that day, and how backed into a corner he'd become in that moment.

"The evidence was fake," Hershal said.

"Yes. I believe my client wasn't aware of this, but he did prepare, just in case things went south. He escaped and disappeared. And abandoned his daughter."

"So you adopted her?" the professor asked.

"Yeah. I mean, what else could I do? A few days after that case, I was called into a hearing by the Lawyer Association, and they took my badge away from me. I know I should have looked closer at the evidence, but I made an honest mistake. One honest mistake, in a sea of other people making mistakes, and I'm the one punished," Phoenix vented, before realizing he was doing so. He took a deep breath, calming himself down. "Sorry…"

"It's okay, Mr. Wright. I understand your frustration. What are you doing now?" he asked.

"I play the piano," Phoenix said lightly.

"You're investigating though, aren't you? You're trying to find the one who forged the evidence and set you up," Professor Layton asked. Phoenix grinned sheepishly.

"How'd you guess?"

"You never seemed to be the type of man who would take something like that laying down."

"Ah."

"We are here, by the way," Professor Layton said. Phoenix nodded, looking around, trying to figure out where the stone would be.

"The website said 'Min Iscool Museum," Phoenix said. The professor nodded, and the two began their hunt.

…

"So, do we know where to start looking for the Maze Stone when we get there?" Pearl asked, swaying along with the motion of the train. The trip was a few hours long, and the two had played word games (which Luke mostly won), took naps, and watched the scenery flash past out the windows.

Now, they were nearing the end of their journey, and Pearl had bought up a very good point.

"Um… no," Luke said, quickly pulling out his notebook and flipping through it.

"You want the Min Iscool Museum," a voice said from above them. Both kids looked up to see a familiar face.

"Dr. Volca!" Luke and Pearl exclaimed at the same time. The older man smiled at the two.

"What are you two doing all the way out here?" the professor asked.

"We're going to try to solve the puzzles of the Maze Stones!" Luke said in determination.

"Oh? And what does your dad think of this?" the man asked, remembering that Luke's father had replaced Dr. Kingston. Luke froze, looking down.

"He, uh, doesn't know," Luke mumbled.

"He doesn't know? You ran away from home?" Dr. Volca demanded. Luke winced at the accusing town. Pearl, however, jumped to his defense.

"No, we didn't run away from home!" she snapped. "We… Luke's parents…" Pearl trailed off as Luke put a hand on her shoulder.

"We're trying to solve the puzzle for Mom and Dad. AND Dr. Kingston," he said. Dr. Volca studied the young man in front of him, realizing what must have happened.

"I'm trying to solve the puzzle as well," he admitted. "I thought, perhaps, these puzzles would lead to Dr. Kingston. We should join forces," Dr. Volca suggested.

Pearl and Luke glanced at each other, thinking about his idea. They both were smart enough to know that almost anywhere they went, they'd need adult supervision. In fact, it was a miracle they'd made it through the entire train ride without being questioned about their parents.

Also, Dr. Volca knew ancient languages, and Luke just realized that any puzzle, or any script at all on these puzzle stones, would be written in an ancient language.

Besides, they had a common goal, right? _Power in numbers_ , Luke thought.

"Okay. Thanks," he said, smiling up at the man.

…

A quick taxi ride from the train station, and the group stood in front of the smallest museum Luke had ever seen.

"Here it is," Dr. Volca said. "Min Iscool Museum."

"Is that a different language?" Pearl asked, looking up at the college professor.

"I'm not sure, to be honest," Dr. Volca said, leading the way in and paying for one adult and two kid tickets.

"Can we also have a map, please?" Luke asked, tipping his hat back as he looked up at the person working behind the desk. The elderly lady smiled, pulling one out.

"There you go, young man. It's so nice to see young people interested in art and history these days," she said. Luke blushed slightly with a smile.

"Thanks," he said, before hurrying after Pearl and Dr. Volca. He quickly opened the map, studying it.

"It says here that the first floor is all art, and the second floor is history," Luke said.

"Well, then we're going in the right direction," Dr. Volca said with a grin, motioning towards a set of stairs.

Once on the second floor, the trio walked through three different rooms and, it felt like, three different eras.

"Where do you think the stone will be?" Pearl asked, looking up at a large, kite shaped shield.

"I think you mean when," Dr. Volca said with a smile, before looking at the shield with her. "This shield is from 15th century Europe," he said, launching into a lengthy description of its history, not looking once at the information card on the glass.

Meanwhile, Luke was studying the map once more, remembering the theories his dad had told him about the origin of the stone. Dr. Volca had confirmed the last theory, that it was from ancient Buddha tradition, but there were no rooms like that. The other two theories were of Native American origin and older-then-Mayan, the Cascadians.

The four rooms were Middle Age Europe, where they stood now, Soviet Era Russia, The Civil War era, and Native Americans.

"I think we should try the Native American room!" Luke exclaimed, looking up and interrupting the impromptu history lesson. Dr. Volca had just been telling Pearl about the jousting tournaments, and she was listening with huge, bright eyes, her hands in front of her mouth. They both turned to face him, and Luke's heart did a tap-dance at the excitement in Pearl's eyes.

"The Native American room?" Dr. Volca asked thoughtfully, before grinning. "Yes. That's the most likely candidate. Come on!" he said, swiftly leading the two.

"Are you okay?" Pearl asked her friend, having noticed the color rise to Luke's cheeks.

"Yeah," he said with a hasty smile.

"There it is," Dr. Volca said, spotting the large stone. Luke and Pearl quickly followed the man over, the former happy for the splint that let him walk almost normally.

"So, what puzzle do we solve?" Pearl asked.

"I think we have to figure out the maze!" Luke said. He'd given it much thought since they first translated the script on the back of the Kurain Stone. It only made sense, after all.

"But how? Where does it start?" Pearl asked, studying the stone. Luke studied it as well, pulling his notebook out and flipping to a blank page. He then opened his pen, holding the lid in his mouth and sketching the maze quickly.

"The start… the end… The end is what really matters, but we need the start," Luke mumbled, his words muffled by the lid. Dr. Volca looked over the boy's shoulder, curious as to what the boy was doing, before leaning back over to study the stone.

"This maze is made up of the Tibetan symbol for wisdom…" Dr. Volca mused.

"Wisdom… wisdom…" Luke muttered as he continued his sketch, making sure each detail was painstakingly correct. He had started from the middle, and was working his way out, carefully making sure the interlocked squares on his paper matched that of—

"That's it!" Luke suddenly exclaimed, ripping the lid from his mouth. "Wisdom lies at the end of knowledge, right?" he said, looking at the other two. They nodded. "But at the same time, Wisdom is also inherent, _surrounded_ by knowledge. The end of this maze is in the _center_!" he said.

"Good job, Luke!" Dr. Volca said, feeling a slight twinge at the fact that a thirteen year old with an education no higher then middle school found the answer faster then him, with his own education. He hid it well, though, and neither kid noticed.

Glancing around and making sure no one was watching, Luke ducked under the guard rail and pressed the middle. There was a soft grinding around, and the square that held the maze suddenly flipped.

"Wow," Pearl gasped, her eyes wide. Dr. Volca leaned forward, reading the words on the new section of stone. It was in ancient Tibetan, of course.

"It's a riddle," he said. Luke's eyes lit up at the thought of another puzzle. "Can you read it aloud? I can write it down," he said. Dr. Volca nodded and started, his voice slow and halting as he translated and worded it to make sense.

"' _A house based on a foundation like the skies,_

 _A house one has covered with a veil like a secret box,_

 _A house set on a base like a goose,_

 _One enters it blind,_

 _And leaves it seeing."_

"That's confusing," Pearl said, nibbling on her thumbnail in thought. Luke studied the words on his page, letting Pearl see them too. They studied it together, trying to come up with the answer.

"Well, skies can also mean heavens," Dr. Volca said.

"Yeah, but how can someone whose blind see it just by walking in and out? Is it the home of a doctor?"

"What if that's a metaphor? Like the goose thing," Luke said, running his finger over words. "That must mean it's guarded. Geese guard their nests fiercely, right?"

"Yes," Dr. Volca said distractedly.

"Hey! This is the stone of wisdom, right? The answer might have something to do with that! And that's why "blind" people can see when they leave!" Pearl exclaimed.

"You're right!" Luke said. "And 'house' is probably just another word for 'building'. And what kind of building do you learn stuff in?" He grinned at Pearl.

"A school!" she exclaimed happily, before pouting. "But how do we tell a stone the an—" she got no further in her question. There was a soft grating noise again and, with that same twinge, just a little stronger, Dr. Volca watched as that same panel flipped to reveal the maze again. However, this time, there was something laying on top.

An old, stone key.

"A key?" Pearl asked. Dr. Volca took it quickly, stuffing it into his pocket.

"Probably to this unimaginable wisdom," he said, wrapping his arms around the kids and turning them from the stone. "Now come. Let us head out," he said. Luke and Pearl grinned at each other, letting the man propel them forward.

"I wonder if the Professor and Mr. Wright has found any keys yet," Luke said with a grin.

…

Phoenix and Professor Layton finally found the Min Iscool Museum, and entered, just as a large group of people came out.

"We sure this is the right place?" Phoenix asked, looking at the tiny building.

"Yes," Professor Layton said, entering the building. Neither glanced back at the group.

If they had, they might have noticed a tall, skinny, balding man with glasses, leading a boy with a blue had and a girl in odd clothes back to the train station.

…

A/N: And here we have it! Chapter ten, and the first solved maze stone! What do you think? The riddle is of Sumerian origin. Also, if you're curious about the symbol that made up the maze, Google Image search "Tibetan symbol for wisdom".

Onto the next chapter!


	11. Gregory Kingston

A/N: Another chapter! I know I said every other day, but it might be faster now that I have an outline and all my research out of the way…

ONWARD!

…

Chapter Eleven – Gregory Kingston

 _Unknown Location_

Clark carefully moved the candle closer to the book he was reading, trying to take some of the strain off his eyes. He'd been in this cave for a week and a half now, perpetually crouched over at the desk supplied to him, reading books and papers and studying photographs.

"Clark," the soft voice of his wife, Brenda, penetrated the fog of research in his mind like a ray of sunshine.

"Yes?" he asked, finally looking up and rubbing his tired eyes.

"You've barely eaten or slept in days," she said, coming closer now that she had his attention. Clark sighed, looking at the tray in her hands. On top was a questionable piece of meat – chicken, perhaps? – bread, cheese, and a glass of water. She balanced it on her hand and moved the book in front of him, replacing it with the tray.

"I haven't been hungry," he mumbled. Brenda studied her husband, on the verge of tears.

They'd been taken from their home, half-asleep and blindfolded, and with no idea what happened to Luke.

On the way here, they heard their captures saying that he escaped. They sent people after him, but his sled went off a cliff.

The only way they were able to continue forward was because they knew Luke was smart. He spent years with Professor Layton, watched, and even helped him build life-saving machines under pressure, and he probably did the same in this situation.

Hopefully.

"Clark," Brenda said softly, her voice breaking. The man quickly looked up at her, saw her eyes swimming with tears and knew, instinctually, the only way to make her feel better, even a little, was to take care of himself. He picked up the glass of water and sipped before breaking the bread into chunks, eating slowly.

His instincts were right. Brenda took a deep breath, the tears fading, for now, and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"It's not tea, but it'll do," Clark said softly, earning the weakest giggle he ever heard from his wife. She then sighed.

"I hope Luke is okay," she said softly. Clark nodded in agreement.

"As do I."

Brenda didn't respond for a bit, and Clark began to wonder if she fell asleep, when she suddenly reached forward, taking the book he'd been reading, and scanning the page.

"The Imperial Maze Stone?" she asked.

"Yes. They want me to research that, the San Diego one, and the Orange County one," Clark explained, picking at the surprisingly dry meat before moving on to the cheese, wishing he had the forethought to eat it with the bread.

"I wonder why," Brenda said softly.

"I don't know," he sighed.

"Because each of the Maze Stones hold a secret. A secret we do not know, but would like to understand," a voice said from the entrance. The married couple quickly looked over to find a large, tall man, almost seven foot tall and shrouded in a cloak as black as the night sky. A dark hat with a wide brim threw his face into shadow, and the three meager candles they had in the room didn't help to alleviate the shadows at all.

Neither of the caves occupants moved or spoke. They didn't know what this man, this _phantom_ wanted, and doing nothing until they were told was the smartest option open to them.

"Stand up," he commanded. Both did, watching with weary eyes. Suddenly, Clark was grabbed from behind, his arms pinned behind his back. A blindfold suddenly covered his eyes.

"Wh-what are you doing!?" Brenda cried, watching her husband struggle with the man behind him. In that instant, she was grabbed, a little more gently, as well. Her surprised gasp alerted Clark to this.

"Brenda!?" he cried.

"Peace, Dr. Triton. You both will not be harmed. We are simply moving you and your research," the first voice said.

"We will… still be together, right?" Brenda asked, her voice shaking.

"Of course. You're care is keeping him alive and healthy enough to continue your research, and Dr. Triton is, of course, valuable to us."

"Why the blindfolds?" Clark asked as they were propelled forward.

"If you were to escape your cells, we can't have you knowing the layout of the caves, can we?" the phantom responded. Clark fell silent. It did, after all, make sense.

Blinded as he was and unable to study their surroundings, Clark began to count the steps they were taking. About 348 steps later, they were stopped, and a soft grating sound filled the air.

"We bought you help," the phantom said. Brenda and Clark were propelled inside, and the blindfolds were suddenly pulled off.

This cave looked no different from their first one, except instead of one desk and two cots, there were two desks and three cots. At one desk sat a man. The candle next to him revealed a sharply angled face, deep set eyes and a narrow, straight nose with a pair of cracked glasses perched on the bridge. His hair, a light color, hung limply to his sharp chin, and his dirty, ripped clothes showed sweat, grease, and, alarmingly enough, a blood stain on his side. They were, like Clark's and Brenda's, a set of pajamas.

"Dr. Triton, Mrs. Triton, this is Dr. Kingston. We decided that your two brilliant minds would work better together then alone. And Mrs. Triton will make sure you both are taken care of," the phantom explained, looking between the three.

"Well, good luck!" Suddenly, each phantom, for there must have been at least five of them, vanished, leaving the prisoners to study each other. Finally, Dr. Kingston stood and walked over to them, holding his hand out.

"Dr. Gregory Kingston. Please, just call me Greg," he said. Clark smiled weakly, shaking his hand.

"Dr. Clark Triton. This is my wife, Brenda," he said.

"And you can just call us by our first names as well," Brenda added.

"I guess we should start, huh?" Greg asked. Clark nodded, walking over to the second desk. All of his research and notes sat there in a box, and he couldn't help but wonder how they got it all packed up so quickly.

Brenda, while those two studied, made sure the blankets sitting on the cots would be warm enough and that the pillows would be thick enough. Tonight, she resolved, she would get both men to stop working in order to eat, then get some sleep. Greg had the same bags, if not worse, under his eyes that Clark had, meaning he wasn't sleeping that well either.

…

Three bowls of thick, hot stew was delivered to the cell, the best food any of them had received since being there. Not letting this go to waste, Brenda managed to pull both away from their work and over to the cots, which she had arranged into a circle, surrounding a candle. The men groaned about how much work they had, but didn't put up much more of a fight when the bowls of stew were placed in their hands.

"So, you were my replacement," Greg suddenly said after a few moments of silently enjoying their strew. Clark looked up and nodded.

"Yes."

"So why'd you take the job after I disappeared?"

"We didn't know that. The museum told us that you just suddenly quit, and that's all the Feys knew as well," Brenda explained. Greg nodded.

"That makes more sense," he sighed, sipping more of the stew.

"So, did you work for the museum?" Clark asked. Greg shook his head.

"No. I was a professor at Nodir University, on Sabbatical to study the stone." He sighed. "I don't even know how long I've been here anymore," he admitted. "I was just taken from the house one night."

"So were we. Thankfully, our son managed to escape," Clark explained. Brenda sighed once more at the thought of Luke.

"Your son? Hopefully he saw something. If he went to the police, and could give a witness testimony," Greg said, hope entering his tired voice. Clark and Brenda glanced at each other, remembering hearing the men say that he went over the cliff.

"Hopefully he's able to," Clark finally said. Brenda looked away, covering her mouth and fighting back tears. Greg noticed but didn't comment on it.

"So, what do they have you studying?" Clark finally asked.

"The Hemet and Kurain stones," Greg answered before slurping the rest of the stew. Clark smiled slightly at that. "You?" Greg asked once finally done, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

"Imperial, San Diego, and Orange," Clark responded, doing the same with his own stew. He wasn't that hungry, not by a long-shot, but he knew that Brenda would feel better knowing he ate the full bowl of stew.

"I guess it's back to the research, huh? Greg asked once Clark was finished as well.

"Yeah," Clark sighed. Brenda stood, walking in front of the two, her hands on her hips.

"No. Now it's bed time," he said.

"But—" Clark began. Brenda shook her head, her voice softening.

"No, Clark. Both of you need sleep. If you're too tired, you wont be able to research anything at all," she said. The men, realizing she was, laid down on their cots, thinking of the work that they could only wake up to.

…

A/N: And another chapter out! You all HAD to know Dr. Kingston would be coming in sometime. He's just too important a character to the plot to NOT come into the story on purpose.

Well, I think it's bed time for me (1:15am), so… good night!


	12. San Diego County

A/N: And here's another chapter! Today was actually when I scheduled for me to post Chapter ten, but, well, we see how that worked out, haha!

Onto Chapter twelve!

…

Chapter Twelve – San Diego County

Luke stared at the map posted to one of the columns in the train station, confused. They had taken the train from Imperial County, but they had somehow winded up in Arizona.

"So… I think we're lost," Pearl said. Luke sighed, nodding.

"Yeah. We should have paid more attention to where that train was going," Luke agreed. Dr. Volca, who was standing behind them, sighed in frustration.

"And the next train to California isn't coming for another three hours," he said. Pearl and Luke looked at each other, not knowing what to think of not only this situation, but Volca's frustration as well.

…

"Professor, what if all the stones are like that?" Phoenix asked, watching the signs for the San Diego exit.

The stone they had found in Min Iscool Museum had flipped when they solved the maze, then flipped again once they solved the riddle. But that was it. Nothing else happened.

"I believe someone made it to the stone before us," Professor Layton responded. Phoenix looked over at the man, surprised.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes. Did you notice a lack of dust on the maze?" he asked. Phoenix thought for a moment, thinking back.

"Well, yeah, but I thought the museum just cleaned it," he replied. Hershal smiled at the man.

"I thought that at first, too," he said. "But the rest of the stone was dusty, meaning it hadn't been cleaned in some time. No. Someone other then ourselves made it to the stone first and solved the puzzle, getting whatever hint it contained and leaving before we arrived," the professor explained.

"So we just have to be faster with the rest," Phoenix concluded. Professor Layton smiled and nodded.

"Exactly."

The two finally found their way to the small town where the Maze Stone was found and, after asking around a bit, drove to the outskirts, where it sat.

The ground around the maze stone hadn't been disturbed in many years. Layton could see this at a glance, and the moss growing on the maze part of the stone told them that they were the first to reach it.

Phoenix set to work, cleaning the maze off, while Professor Layton thought back to Clark's notes.

"This is the stone of meditation," he said, his hand cupping his chin. "Perhaps, the way to solve this maze is to clear one's mind, and the answer will come to them."

"Will you be able to do that, Professor?" Phoenix asked, knowing he couldn't, and wishing one of the Feys, who meditated all the time, were with them.

"I have to try," the professor said, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes for a moment. Phoenix watched as the professor emptied his mind, focusing on the stone.

"I don't think you're supposed to focus so hard," Phoenix said. Hershal glanced over at Phoenix, nodded, and tried again.

It must have taken twenty minutes for the professor to enter the state of meditation needed to solve the puzzle, but as soon as he did, the answer was clear as day to him, almost like a foggy day clearing in the face of the sun.

He reached over and pressed the lower right corner and, with a soft grating noise, the rock split into two.

"You broke it!" Phoenix exclaimed. Professor Layton chuckled.

"No," he said. "The puzzle is bigger then that of a riddle," he said, pointing at it.

In the middle were three rods. On the first one sat seven stone disks, the bottom one the largest. Each one grew slightly smaller, making the top one the smallest.

"What is this?" Phoenix asked, studying the stakes.

"I believe this is a variation of the Towers of Hanoi puzzle. We have to move all of the disks from the first rod, let's call that A, to the last one, which we can all C," the professor said.

"And the middle one is B?" Phoenix asked. The professor nodded, and Phoenix looked at it again. "And because this is a puzzle, it's not as straight forward as just picking them up and moving them all, huh?"

"Of course not," the Professor said with a chuckle. "The rules are simple. First, only one disk can be moved at a time. Second, A disk can only be moved if it is the upper most disk on the stack, and finally, no disk may be placed on a smaller disk."

"Simple. Right." Phoenix shook his head, studying the disks. "We're going to be here a while, huh?"

"I don't think so," the professor said with a smile. "There are only seven disks. The minimum number of moves required is easy to figure out. It will be two to the 'n'th power, minus one, with the number of disks being n. That means it will take at least 127 moves to complete this puzzle. Let us begin, shall we?"

"Right," Phoenix said, moving closer to the puzzle to start. The larger stone disks were heavy, and took them both to lift up onto the rods. It also took a lot of back and forth between rods A, B, and C to fill the criteria of the rules, but finally, after about half an hour, Professor Layton laid the last disk, the smallest, on the full stack on Rod C.

"Done," he said with a smile. Phoenix smiled slightly as well, rubbing his sore arms. There was the soft sound a grinding, and, thinking quickly, the two jumped off the stone. It closed with a dull thud and the maze panel flipped, revealing a key. Professor Layton smiled, picking it up and showing it to Phoenix.

"This is the clue," he said. "Or rather, a key to unimaginable wisdom. This must be what Clark and Brenda's kidnappers were after," he said. Phoenix nodded.

"And what whoever made it to the first stone before us got."

"Yes, we must hurry," the professor said, returning to the Laytonmobile.

"Professor," Phoenix started.

"Yes?"

"You said that was a variation. What was the original?" he asked, buckling his seatbelt.

"Well, there is a legend that there is a secret temple in Hanoi that has a large room that contains three posts, surrounded by sixty-four golden disks," the professor began. Phoenix gasped at the number. Before he did the puzzle, he would have thought nothing of it. Now, he knew that doing one of those puzzles with sixty-four disks would take forever.

"The priests, acting out the command of an ancient prophecy, have been moving these disks, using the same rules we did, except that they're only allowed to move one per day. According to the legend, when the last move of the puzzle is completed, the world will end," Professor Layton finished.

"And do you believe this legend?" Phoenix asked.

"Oh no, of course not," Professor Layton said with a chuckle, merging into the right hand lane to get onto the ramp leading towards their next destination, Orange County. He then looked thoughtful. "Still though, most legends to contain a kernel of truth."

Phoenix looked over at his friend in alarm at that.

"H-how long do you think it will take? For them to complete the puzzle, I mean," Phoenix asked.

"Well, it would take about 18,446,744,073,709,551,615 turns to finish, and if they can only move one per day… that is well over seven trillion years, Mr. Wright. I think there is nothing to worry about," the professor said with a laugh. Phoenix chuckled as well.

"That's good…"

…

A/N: And here we have it! Another chapter, though shorter this time.

I came across the "Towers of Hanoi" puzzle in a Computer Science class in college (Computer Science being my minor), and thought it would be perfect for this story! I'm honestly surprised it hasn't come up in any of the Professor Layton games…

If you're curious about the exact solution, Google "towers of hanoi 7 discs solution". The first video, the one that 1:35 long, is the best example in my opinion. It doesn't go TOO fast, so you can actually see what they're doing.

And, as Professor Layton told Phoenix, the origin of this puzzle comes from legend!

Well, onto the next chapter!


	13. The Dark Watchers

A/N: Not much to really say here. This will be a short chapter, mainly exposition. I did say I was using TWO California legends in this story!

Well, here we go with another chapter!

…

Chapter Thirteen – The Dark Watchers

"What happened to your side?" Brenda asked their cellmate, Greg, one morning after breakfast. Greg looked at Brenda, not comprehending. She pointed to the bloodstain.

"Oh, that," he said, carefully pulling up the nightshirt. "I put up a fight, and tried to escape when the Dark Watchers took me," he explained. There was a shallow, already mostly healed gash on his side. Brenda looked confused at the name he gave to their kidnappers, but recognition flared into Clark's eyes.

"The Dark Watchers. You wrote about them in your research," he said.

"But what are Dark Watchers?" Brenda asked.

"That's right, you're not native to California, so you probably wouldn't know this particular legend," Greg said. He sat forward, gathering his thoughts for a moment, before starting. "Originating in the Santa Lucia Mountains, there are these large, human like phantoms that are seen only at twilight. They stand silhouetted against the night sky along the ridges and peaks of the mountain range and normally, they're seen staring off into the open air at seemingly nothing before vanishing. Sometimes right before someone's eyes."

"And you think these men are the Dark Watchers?" Clark asked. Greg nodded.

"Yes. I first noticed one watching me about a week after I arrived in Kurain. Always at twilight, always in the mountains. And they're huge, like the legend says. But it was the fact that one vanished, right before my eyes, that lead me to make the connection to the Dark Watchers. Plus, more sighting have been documented in the Los Angeles area."

"But why kidnap us?" Brenda asked.

"They want to know the secrets of the Maze Stones, something I came SO close to cracking. You must have as well, if they took you. I believe they weren't staring off into space, as believed, but that they were _searching_. And have been for a long, long time," Greg concluded. Clark sighed, looking over at his desk, and the pile of research on it.

"I didn't come close. I bet Luke, my son, did though. He was helping me, and boy is he brilliant. He'll make an excellent Archeologist one day."

"If that's what he wants to do," Brenda gently reminded Clark. Yesterday, they had heard some of the phantoms, the Dark Watchers, talking outside of their cell. They had apparently been keeping eyes on two kids. One, a girl, wearing the odd clothes common in Kurain Village. The other, a young boy in a blue hat who solved the puzzles of the first Maze Stone easily.

That young boy, they knew, was Luke.

He was alive, and apparently well enough to be solving puzzles, and getting lost in Arizona.

…

Sorry for how short this chapter was! It really is basic set up. Next chapter coming soon!


	14. Orange County

A/N: Okay, so I want to thank WolfieRed23 for pointing out a mistake I made, that I shall rectify in this chapter! Also, I'm very sorry for how short the last chapter was. I shall now make up for it!

Here we go!

…

Chapter Fourteen – Orange County

Miles scowled at his phone. For the past day and a half, he'd been trying to get a hold of Phoenix, but with no luck. His phone kept going straight to voicemail, like it was off, or dead or something.

"Why don't you try to call the professor?" Kay asked, perched on the couch in his office. Miles sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Because I don't have his phone number," he said, glancing up at the girl.

"Oh," she said, before shrugging. "Well, they'll probably meet up somewhere, right?" she said.

"I hope so. Before Luke and Pearl get hurt, or into too much trouble," he replied.

…

"Huh," Phoenix said, studying his phone. He and Professor Layton were lost. Orange County was tiny, and they had apparently driven right through it, into San Bernardino.

"What's wrong?" Professor Layton asked, searching for a way to turn around.

"My phone's dead. Must have forgot to charge it the night before we left." Phoenix shrugged. "That happens sometimes," he admitted. After all, he was bed with technology. Forgetting to charge his phone was common for him, even in college.

"Ah. Well, hopefully no one will have to get a hold of you," Hershel mused.

"Hopefully."

…

Pearl and Luke sat on the train, watching their chaperon. He was pacing angrily, talking on his cell. They had finally gotten to and solved the puzzle of the San Diego stone, only to not receive the key.

Someone got there before them.

"I'm sorry, Luke," Pearl said, leaning against her friend. He was kind of upset, though not nearly as angry as Dr. Volca. After all, what if it not just their group and Phoenix and the professor searching for the keys? What if the men who kidnapped his parents, and tried to get him, was also searching?

"It's okay," he said softly, leaning into her as well, enjoying her comfort.

"At least we have the first one!" she tried hopefully.

"Yeah, but what if we lost too much time with our detour to Arizona?" Luke asked, sitting up and looking at Pearl. She took his hands, tugging him gently to face her.

"I don't think we did. You are the best puzzle solver I know, and trains are faster then cars," she said. Luke looked down at their hands, then up at her. "We will reach the next maze stone and solve the puzzle." She grinned. "I just know it."

Luke smiled warmly at Pearl, feeling better.

"You're right, Pearl. Thanks," he said, hugging her. She gasped softly in surprise, her cheeks turning a little red, before hugging him back.

"Y-you're welcome," she stammered.

Volca, done on the phone, looked over at the two kids, shaking his head before finally coming over.

"We're almost there," he said. The two quickly pulled apart, looking up at him.

"Are you okay? You seemed angry," Pearl asked. Luke frowned slightly at that. He found it odd how mad Volca had gotten. After all, he was just looking for a colleague, compared to Luke, who was looking for his family.

"Yes. I'm just worried," Volca admitted, before smiling slightly. "Come on, you two. We have a puzzle to solve."

…

Finding the stone wasn't hard. After all, Orange County was a tiny county.

The stone was in a small, private university, and all it took to gain access was showing Volca's Nodir University ID and a promise not to let the kids touch it.

The stone stood in a room in the Archeology building, surrounded by other Cascadian and Mayan artifacts.

"Seems everyone has their own opinion of the origin of these stones," Volca said thoughtfully, studying the maze. Luke and Pearl studied it as well.

Luke pulled out his notebook and began sketching the maze, much like he did the last two (even if it was Pearl who solved the San Diego Maze). Volca watched over his shoulder, keeping his thoughts to himself this time.

"This is the stone of enlightenment…" Luke muttered. Volca frowned slightly, looking back to the stone. The intertwining paths on this one was a lot more complicated, but within the paths, he could see a shape.

"There's a flower!" Pearl said. Luke stopped and looked at his drawing, noticing that this time, he started with the flower shape within the maze.

"A flower… wait, isn't the Lotus the symbol of Enlightenment?" he asked, looking up at Dr. Volca.

"Well, yes, depending on the culture…" he said thoughtfully.

"And enlightenment is like a flower blooming!" Pearl said brightly, her eyes lighting up as she reached forward, pressing the space right where the stem and flower connected. Dr. Volca scowled at the back of Luke and Pearl's heads when the stone let out a soft grating noise. Again, he was bested by two middle school kids.

The square with the maze, like the first stone, flipped, revealing ancient Tibetan on the back. Dr. Volca studied it.

"What does it say?" Luke asked, his pen poised over the paper. Volca held up a finger.

"Just a moment. This one is longer then the first one," he said. Luke nodded, grinning at Pearl.

"There was a lot of dust on it, wasn't there?" he asked her. She grinned and showed him her fingers, proving that they were the first to the stone.

"Okay. Here it is," Volca said.

"' _You are walking down the road to enlightenment when you come to a monk and a three-way fork in the road. The road points North, East, and West. You can ask the monk one question. He will answer honestly: yes, no, or hum if he cannot answer._ ' I guess we have to come up with the answer," he concluded. Luke nodded, looking down at where he wrote the riddle.

"It would have something to do with enlightenment," Pearl said with a grin, looking at Luke's book as well.

"Obviously, it has to be a yes or no answer," Dr. Volca said.

"But it can't be simple either," Luke mused.

"Well, there are three paths, and three possible answers," Pearl said brightly.

"Which means… the question has to be worded in a very specific way. What about this?" Luke said, his eyes lit up. "'If the way is not to the east, is it to the west?' That way—" Before he could finish, the stone emitted another grating sound, and the panel flipped, revealing a key. Luke grinned brightly and snatched it up, putting it in his satchel.

"How was that the answer?" Pearl asked, confused.

"Well, if the monk had said yes, the answer is west. No, and it would be east. And if he had hummed, it would be north," Luke explained.

"Oh!" Pearl gasped in understanding, admiration entering her eyes. Luke, noticing, blushed. Volca, who also needed Luke's explanation, frowned slightly, beginning to wonder why he spent so many years in school. But, again, he took a deep breath and smiled.

At least they were getting the keys, right?

"Come on, you two. Next stop, Riverside County and the Hemet stone," he said, leading the two away from the small university and back to the train station.

…

A/N: Poor Volca. That's the third time Luke and Pearl upstaged him.

The Hemet Stone is the second to last stone. What will happen now!?


	15. Watched!

A/N: Here's another short chapter. Sorry, guys! Hopefully it won't be too short!

…

Chapter Fifteen – Watched!

The caves were cold this time of year, causing the tall man to pull his cloak tighter around him. He'd spent the better part of his life living and working the caves that were laced throughout the mountains, but it still chilled him to the bone.

"Sir," a voice said. The first man turned slightly, looking at the second. Like himself, the second man was tall, nearly seven feet. He also wore a dark cloak with a hat that threw his face into shadow.

"What is the news?" the first man asked his second-in-command.

"Volca and the kids have solved the puzzle of the Orange County Maze stone, and the Imperial County one. The other group, the Professor and Wright, have only gotten the key in San Diego," the second-in-command explained. The first man, the leader, nodded.

"That leaves two stones left. Hemet, and Kurain."

"Yes."

"Good. We need the San Diego key, and for Layton and Wright to disappear. Send _them_ to take those two out," the leader commanded.

"Yes, sir," the second in command said, bowing to him before turning in a swish of his long cloak, disappearing down hidden path.

"Soon, it will be ours," he said softly to himself. He then turned and walked down a different path, straight towards the cells that held his prisoners. He had a lot to consult with them about these stones, after all.

It would be them who would figure out exactly what this "unimaginable wisdom" was, in the end.

…

A/N: Wow… this one was even shorter then the last short one. Sorry! I'll get started on Chapter sixteen right away! And this one will very exciting! Promise!


	16. The Hemet Maze Stone

A/N: Another chapter, coming right up! Things are going to get REAL exciting in this chapter!

…

Chapter Sixteen – The Hemet Maze Stone

"Okay, guys. It's getting late," Dr. Volca said as the three stepped off the train in Riverside County, where the Hemet Stone was. The sun was close to the horizon, casting long shadows around the trio.

"And with the stone in the woods, it might not be the best idea to go yet?" Luke asked.

"Exactly," Volca responded.

"But what about the other people who might be going after it?" Pearl asked. Luke nodded. Dark or not, he wanted to get that key first.

"I understand your worry. Believe me, I worried too. But the fact of the matter is, we can't do much in the dark. You understand, right?" Dr. Volca said. Luke frowned, but Pearl put a hand on his shoulder.

"Maybe Dr. Volca is right, Luke. We don't even have flashlights," she said.

"I have torches in my bag!" Luke said, suddenly remembering. He swung the bag off his shoulder and searched through it, pulling out two flashlight and clicking them on.

They stayed dark.

"Oh no! Come on!" he said, tapping the sides before trying again. Still, no luck. Desperate to not let this chance slip away, he searched his bag for spare batteries, but there were none.

"They don't work," Dr. Volca said. Luke frowned at the flashlights before putting them back in his bag.

"Yeah," he grumbled.

"Besides, Luke," Volca crouched in front of the boy. "We don't want you hurting your ankle more. The path, I read, goes uphill and is dangerous. We should go in the morning, when it won't be so bad."

"But!"

"Please, Luke?" Pearl asked, taking the boy's hand. She could see the wisdom in Volca's words, and she didn't want Luke to get hurt anymore either.

"Well… Okay," Luke sighed after looking at Pearl for a few minutes. She smiled warmly at him.

"Thank you," she said.

"Now that that's settled, lets go find a hotel," Dr. Volca said, leading the two away.

…

"No luck in Orange county either," Phoenix sighed, settling against the passenger seat. They had stopped at a store, where he got a phone-car-charger. He checked his phone before setting it down again.

"No. I'm beginning to wonder who we're going against here," Professor Layton responded. Phoenix nodded, wondering the same.

"Maybe the same guys who kidnapped the Tritons?" Phoenix suggested.

"Perhaps," Professor Layton mused. He didn't say anymore though.

"I think we turn off here," Phoenix said, peering at the sign. The light was quickly fading, making it harder to read the signs in the twilight. Professor Layton peered at the sign for a moment before nodding, turning off.

"We're going to have to walk up the path to the stone," Professor Layton said, bringing the Laytonmobile to a stop. Phoenix nodded, stepping out of the car.

"Well, guess we could use a little exercise," Phoenix said with a grin. Hershel laughed.

"I guess we could," he replied, walking with the pianist.

About forty minutes later, Phoenix's flashlight shone over something that moved.

"Professor," he said, freezing. Professor Layton looked over, but didn't see anything.

"What is it, Mr. Wright?" he asked.

"I just saw something move. I don't think we're alone," Phoenix replied, sweeping the beam of his flashlight back and forth, hoping to catch something else moving.

"Mr. Wright! Duck!" Professor Layton yelled. Caught off guard by the sudden loudness of the professor's normally soft voice, and the urgency of his tone, Phoenix hit the ground like a sack of potatoes, just in time to feel something slash horizontally above him. He rolled away, bringing the flashlight up to see what had attacked him.

It was a man. He was large, nearly seven feet tall, holding a heavy baton. He was dressed in a wide-brimmed, black hat and a black cloak, and the instant he moved from the light of the flashlight, he was gone. Professor Layton helped Phoenix back up to his feet, and the two men stood back to back, searching for their attacker.

The next attack came from two different directions at once. Phoenix barely had time to grab the professor and pull him to the ground as an attacker appeared in front of him, but he didn't account for a second attacker, to the side, go for a vertical strike rather then a horizontal one.

The baton crashed into Phoenix's right shoulder, and pain spiraled down to his fingers in an instant, causing him to drop the flashlight with a shout of pain.

"Mr. Wright!" Professor Layton gasped, glancing back at his friend. A soft noise caused him to turn back around, just in time to block another overhead strike with his flashlight. He twisted the now broken flashlight around the baton, effectively disarming the man and taking the baton for himself.

Standing up straight, Layton looked between the men. With his own flashlight broken, and Phoenix's on the ground, his night vision improved, especially with the moonlight reflecting off the snow. There were six men total, and other then the one he disarmed, all of them were holding the batons. Phoenix stood up behind the professor, holding his now bruised shoulder.

"What are we going to do, Professor?" Phoenix asked, looking at each of the men. Before Hershel could answer, two of the men lunged forward. Layton dodged one and parried the other. He then turned quickly, bringing his baton down on the back of the second man's neck. He crumpled to the ground. Layton spun on his heal, bringing the baton up just in time to block another attack. Phoenix dove towards the unconscious man, trying to grab the baton to defend himself.

Unfortunately, the first man that Layton had disarmed was still conscious, and he made a dive for it as well, resulting in both he and Phoenix grabbing it at the same time.

…

Once making sure the kids were asleep, Dr. Volca left the hotel room. The Hemet Maze Stone was behind a large fence, meaning he'd have to climb it, and with Pearl and Luke, that would make it harder.

Using a flashlight, he quickly made it up one of the three paths leading to the stone and carefully climbed the fence. It took him a little longer then Luke and Pearl, but he finally managed to figure out the maze. The panel flipped to reveal a riddle.

' _Until I am measured,_

 _I am unknown._

 _Yet how you miss me,_

 _When I have flown._ '

"Hm…" Well, you can measure more then size," Dr. Volca said, mulling over the riddle. "And you don't need wings to fly… hm…" He stared at the words, studying them over and over again, until, finally, the answer game to him.

"Time?" he asked the rock. There was a soft grating sound, and the panel flipped again, revealing the key. With a grin, he grabbed it, shoving it back into his pocket, and ran over to the fence, climbing it once more and walking back down the path, back to the hotel.

…

"Let it go," the man growled. Phoenix, despite the mild panic in his stomach, aimed a kick at the guy. Unfortunately, the guy saw it coming, and twisted out of the way, before jerking Phoenix closer and slamming his hand, open palmed, into the Phoenix's injured shoulder. Phoenix cried out in pain, letting the baton go and falling to his knees, cradling his injured shoulder. Professor Layton looked over at his friend, seeing one of the cloaked men raising a baton high, ready to bring it down on Phoenix's head.

Professor Layton ducked under another attack and dove towards the one about to hit Phoenix, catching him around the middle and propelling him away from the injured man. He then slammed his baton into the pace between the man's shoulder and neck, effectively knocking him out. That left four. Phoenix immediately grabbed the baton, taking a few deep breaths before standing, holding it in his left hand.

"Are you okay, Mr. Wright?" Professor Layton asked.

"Yeah," Phoenix said, looking at the four.

"Good," the professor said, holding his baton in a fencer's stance, his eyes flickering between the four men.

Out of the four men, the best fighter dove at Professor Layton. Like the professor, he had fencing experience.

The other three dove at Phoenix, determined to take him down. They recognized him as the weaker link, but what they didn't know, however, was that Phoenix was a scrapper who had survived his fair share of bad luck and injuries.

Phoenix ducked under two attacks and swung his baton at the third man, hitting him right in the stomach. With a loud _whoosh_ of air, the third man fell to the ground, winded.

Meanwhile, Layton and his opponent were evenly matched, blow for blow. Layton knew he had to do something soon to take him out and help Phoenix. He glanced around, and finally noticed a root, right behind the man's foot. He slammed his baton down, locking it with the man's as he blocked, rather then bouncing off. With a hard shove, he sent the man reeling back, causing him to trip over the root. He then turned, seeing the man Phoenix had winded slowly picking himself off the ground. He ran forward, smacking that man across the back, before parrying an attack that nearly hit Phoenix from behind. Phoenix glanced over before facing forward again, ducking under an attack from the man he'd been focusing on.

Phoenix blocked two attacks before the man smacked his fingers with the baton. With a yelp, he dropped the weapon and jumped back. Layton, who just managed to take out the man he was facing, turned, grabbed the back of Phoenix's shirt, and spun him around so that Phoenix was behind Layton, just in time for Layton to block the over head strike originally aimed at Phoenix. He disarmed them man with a deft twist of his wrist, sending the baton flying, before striking the man between his shoulder and neck, knocking him out as well.

That left one more. The one the professor had tripped. Angry at how easily this man in the top hat had bested the best fighters in their group, he lunged at him from behind. Phoenix saw him and grabbed Professor Layton, spinning around so that their positions were switched. The man's charge, instead, slammed into Phoenix, sending him into the trunk of a tree with a grunt.

"Mr. Wright!" Hershel yelled, before rushing after them, slamming his baton into the man from behind, knocking him out. The professor then turned towards Phoenix, who was sitting, slouched against the tree trunk.

"Mr. Wright, are you okay?" he asked, kneeling in front of the man. Phoenix looked up.

"Heh, yeah. Sore, but okay," he replied. Professor Layton nodded, carefully helping the man up. Phoenix winced, but smiled slightly at Hershel.

"Didn't know you could fight like that…" he commented. Layton chuckled at that.

"I was in the fencing club in high school," he admitted. Phoenix laughed, shaking his head.

"Hard to imagine you as anything other then a professor," he admitted.

The professor smiled, and the two quickly made their way to the stone. Without even jumping the fence, though, Professor Layton could see that they were too late. The maze part of the stone was dust free.

"We were beaten here," Professor Layton said. Phoenix sighed, frowning slightly.

"And I think we have an idea who too," he said. Professor Layton nodded.

"It's hard to tell if they were trying to fully stop us, or just delay us, but they made sure we didn't make it here before them."

"Which means that those guys had to have been working with the person whose been beating us. That leaves one key for us, and three for them," Phoenix concluded.

"Well, hopefully we can beat them to the Kurain stone," Layton said. Phoenix nodded, turning to follow the professor.

"There's another patch. Let's take that, just in case those guys started waking up," Phoenix suggested. Layton nodded, and the two began on their way.

…

"You went to the stone without us!?" Luke demanded, staring at the professor in front of them. Pearl and Luke had woken up to find the man sitting at the table, the three keys they had gathered in front of him. He had been texting on his phone when they came over.

"Yes. I couldn't sleep last night, so I decided to investigate it myself. I thought it might be a good idea to make sure we got to the key first, after all," Dr. Volca explained. Luke huffed.

"We're supposed to be doing this together!" he said, crossing his arms.

"We got the key, didn't we?" Dr. Volca said, motioning to the third key. Pearl put a hand on Luke's shoulder before he could say anything more.

"At least we're one step closer," she said. Luke sighed, knowing Pearl was right.

"Exactly. Besides, kiddos, that leaves one more stop," Dr. Volca smiled, looking between the two.

"Kurain Village!" they both exclaimed.

…

A/N: And here we are! An epic chapter, with epic action! We're soon coming to the close. Not sure if I'll get chapter seventeen up… we'll see!


	17. The Library

A/N: Here comes another chapter!

ONEWARD!

…

Chapter Seventeen – The Library

In less then a week since Greg and Clark had been working together, they made quite a few breakthrough.

The first was that the symbols on the Kurain stone wasn't of ancient Tibetan or Chinese.

They were ancient Japanese.

The second came today. Greg had his table resting on his books, using them as a pillow, while Clark read through some papers.

Brenda, stood at Clark's side, an arm wrapped around him, trying to help.

"They really want to know what this unimaginable wisdom is, huh?" Brenda asked. Clark nodded.

"One of them came in last night after you fell asleep," Clark admitted.

"He did?"

"Yes. He told me that we only had two more days to figure out this riddle," he sighed, rubbing his tired eyes. Since that meeting, he hadn't slept at all. This was the first time Greg had since they found out.

"Or… or else what?" Brenda asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"It's Luke." Clark slammed his fist down on the desk. Greg started slightly, but otherwise stayed asleep. "They have someone following him. If we don't figure this out, they'll…" he trailed of, putting his head on the desk.

Brenda's eyes were wide, her hands in front of her mouth. She didn't know what to say or do.

Suddenly, Greg started awake and quickly looked around. "I'm awake!" he gasped. Clark picked his head up and looked over at him with a weak smile.

"It's okay, Greg. It's just the three of us in here," he said. Greg shook his head slightly, clearing it, and looked over at Clark.

"I fell asleep…" he mumbled. Clark nodded. "I'm sorry Clark. I know how much we need to figure out this riddle," he said. Clark waved it away.

"It's okay, Greg. We didn't sleep last night, and you've been here much longer then us," he said, turning back to the book. Greg opened his mouth to reply, knew he couldn't say anything to make the situation better, and instead turned back to his own work, letting the cave fall quiet for a few more minutes, until…

"That's it!" Clark gasped, suddenly standing. Brenda, who was rearranging the cots yet again, and Greg, who was beginning to nod off again, both looked over at the man.

"What is it?" Greg asked.

"The answer to this riddle! This 'unimaginable wisdom' they're searching for. It's—" A grating sound interrupted him. Looking up the three found the room full of the cloaked figures.

"So, you figured it out, did you?" one of them men asked, moving closer to Clark. He stood his ground, glaring at the men.

"Yes. It's—"

"Don't say it!" Suddenly, in a whirl of cloaks, the men were upon Clark and it desk. Before Greg or Brenda could make a move, the desk was cleared of all of Clark's research material, and he himself was blindfolded and propelled from the cave.

"Clark!" Brenda cried, going to follow them. The stone door feel into place though, cutting her off, and leaving her trapped, alone with Greg.

"No..." Brenda sobbed. Greg stood and came over, wrapping an arm around her to comfort her.

"What are you going to do with me?" Clark demanded, stumbling along at the fast pace they were urging him forward at. He received no answer, however, and decided instead to focus on where his feet were landing.

Finally, he was pulled to a stop, the blindfold pulled away from his eyes. This room was just as dim as his cave. In front of him stood one of the men.

"Dr. Clark Triton. It's nice to finally meet you," he said. Clark watched the man wearily, wondering what this was about.

When no answer came from the professor, he continued, "So, you discovered the answer to the riddle. What is it?"

"Why couldn't I just tell your men in the cave?" Clark demanded. He was tired and now separated from both his son and wife. He was in no mood to brandy words.

"Because I don't want anyone else to know. That's also why you will be getting your own cave again. Oh, I'm sorry. Last time you shared with your wife. This time you won't."

"Wh-what?" Clark demanded.

"So, what is the answer? Or… shall I call my man?" he asked, pulling a phone out. Clark stiffened. The threat was obvious.

"It's a Library," he said softly.

"A Library?" the man asked.

"A Library. Under Kurain Village. It's said that the Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique, many years ago, was also the keeper of the Library, which contains knowledge from all over the world, and from history. That tradition was lost with the current master's great-great-grandmother," Clark said, a tone of defeat in his voice.

"Good." The man put his phone away. "Now, take him to his new room."

Clark was, once again, grabbed from behind and blindfolded, before being lead to his new, lonely room.

...


	18. The Final Maze Stone

A/N: Not much to say. Marry Christmas Eve! Here we go!

…

Chapter Eighteen – The Final Maze Stone

The train ride back to Los Angeles was quiet. Pearl and Luke were concerned about returning to Kurain after how they disappeared without telling anyone, while Volca was thinking about what they would find at the end of this puzzle.

Finally, and too soon, the train stopped just outside of the village. Careful not to attract any attention, they stayed to the outskirts, cutting around to the side that the stone was on, finally getting to the cleared away area of the Kurain Maze Stone.

"You know, dad kept saying the symbols on this stone was different from the rest," Luke mused, studying the maze again, a new light in his eyes. Pearl, who never actually looked at the maze, gasped.

"It's like the symbols on the Sacred Tapestry!" she gasped. "They're ancient Japanese."

"That's different…" Volca mused, just before his phone let out a soft jingle. He looked down at it. "I have to take this," he said, stepping away from the kids.

…

Professor Layton looked around at the train as it climbed the mountain to Kurain Village. Phoenix, on the other hand, watched out the window. His shoulder was stiff, but after putting ice on it all night, it felt a lot better.

"Are all trains in this country like this?" Professor Layton asked. He was used to the trains that had the different compartments, rather then a cart full of seats. Phoenix glanced over and chuckled.

"Yeah. I know it's a lot different from the trains in London, huh?" he asked. Layton chuckled.

"Yes. Very.

…

While Volca talked on the phone, Luke and Pearl studied the maze. Pearl had seen the symbol many, many times throughout Fey Manor and the other Kurain Channeling temples, and she had to really think about what it meant.

Luke, while Pearl studied the maze, was sketching it. Unlike the other stones, he didn't have the hint of knowing what the symbol meant, but he still figured that maybe, just maybe, he could still figure it out.

"Death," Pearl suddenly said, her voice solemn. Luke stopped in his sketching and looked up.

"What?"

"They symbol. It means death. And…" she put her hand over the stone. "I can sense spiritual power from it. The same that's common in the main Fey family. I wonder if, back then, the main Fey family knew about this. I think so…" She fell silent for a moment, thinking and playing with her Magatama.

"What are you thinking?" Luke asked. She looked over at him and smiled.

"I'm going to Channel my Great, great, great, great grandmother. Will you tell her about everything?" she asked.

"Uh… yes?" Luke answered, unsure. She grinned before taking a deep breath, closing her eyes.

Pearl focused deeply on her ancestor, picturing her face as clearly as she could and channeling her spiritual powers through her body until, suddenly, Pearl knew nothing.

Luke watched as Pearl's body grew taller and more curvy. Her face grew more mature, though her hair style and color stayed the same.

Finally, in front of Luke stood someone who was not Pearl.

"I am Mora, the previous Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique," she announced in a voice very different from Pearl's. "What is it that you require of me?" she asked Luke, who was just staring at her, his mouth hanging open.

"Oh, um… uh… well… I…" he pointed at the stone. Mora stepped forward and studied it.

"Ah. The Library. I have not seen it for many, many years," she said, her voice full of warm memories. She looked at Luke.

"Why do you wish to see it?" she demanded.

"Oh, uh… me… and um, Pearl, the one whose Channeling you, and Dr. Volca, want to see it because, well… I think I can use it to save my parents…" Luke said, looking down. Mora studied the young man in front of her. His motive was noble and his words were true. She could easily see that.

"Then I shall open the first part of the puzzle for you. After all, the Feys have lost the way in, so the one channeling me, Pearl was it? Would not know how. You, however, have to solve the final puzzle." With these words, she stepped forward and drew on the spiritual power in Pearl's young body. There was the soft sound of grating, and the section of stone with the maze flipped over, revealing script written in Ancient Japanese. Luke glanced back at Dr. Volca, who was still on the phone, before looking at the woman.

"What does it say?" he asked. Mora smiled.

"' _I am always around, but never seen._

 _I am often avoided, but you can not outrun me._

 _I will come when you are old and gray,_

 _Or maybe even the very next day._

 _I will come with a cold embrace,_

 _And give you rest with a chilled kiss on your face._

 _I come in many emotional states,_

 _Whether it is irony, love, laughter, or hate._

 _I am the last, everyone's final fate._ '"

With that, Mora's spirit left Pearl's body, reverting her back to her normal physic. She blinked in confusion, before looking at Luke with wide eyes, just as Dr. Volca came over.

"Well?" she asked. Luke grinned and motioned to the stone, where the riddle was.

"Uh-oh," Volca said. "Bad news, kiddos. I can't read this."

"No need! Pearl channeled her great, great, great, great grandmother, who unlocked the maze and translated it for me!" Luke explained, before showing them both the book. Pearl read the riddle, but Luke already knew the answer.

"It's something you can avoid, yet not outrun. People try to, even though it gives them rest, and it can come at anytime. Finally, it's everyone's 'final fate.' There's only one thing it could be," Luke mused. He turned, and opened his mouth to announce the answer.

"Luke!" the last voice any of them expected called. The boy looked up excitedly.

"Professor!" he said happily. Volca frowned deeply, turning to face the two men. Phoenix and the professor slowed to a halt when seeing him.

"Who are you?" Phoenix demanded, pushing his hands into his hoodie pocket.

"Dr. Volca. Linguistic Anthropologist professor at Nodir University. And you two?" he asked. Professor Layton laid a gentle hand on Phoenix's shoulder.

"I'll say you are more then that. It was you three who beat Mr. Wright and I to the maze stones, wasn't it?" he asked. Luke smiled sheepishly.

"Yes. Sorry, Professor. But I… wanted to help save my parents," Luke said. Layton nodded acknowledgement to the young boy.

"And I should have let you," the professor replied before turning his attention back to Dr. Volca, cupping his chin. "Yet, I cannot help but wonder why a Linguistic Anthropologist would be interested in the Maze Stones."

"I'm doing it to save Dr. Kingston—" Dr. Volca said.

"I thought that might be your answer, but I checked in with the University last night, while Mr. Wright was asleep," Professor Layton said. "They believed that Dr. Kingston suddenly quit and went away. None of the professors should have known about him being kidnapped."

Volca took a step back, surprised. Luke and Pearl quickly looked up at the man who had helped them find all of the keys, and Luke suddenly felt a sense of dread filling his stomach.

"I… I… That's not it," Dr. Volca said, struggling to find the right words. Professor Layton noticed the three keys that Luke held in his clutched hand.

"Not only that, but we were attacked yesterday by the men, who stopped us from reaching the fourth stone," Professor Layton said.

"And if you have three, and we have one, that means you must have gotten to the fourth stone," Phoenix said. "Which means…"

"Dr. Volca," Professor Layton began.

"You work with those men!" both Phoenix and Professor Layton announced, back to back, pointing at Dr. Volca.

"Y-you… you work for the men who kidnapped my parents!?" Luke demanded, jumping away from the man and turning to face him, stumbling slightly at the twinge in his ankle. He glared at the man, his eyes filling with tears. "Were you there that night!? Did you try to kidnap me too!?" his voice grew louder with each question. Dr. Volca stared at the boy for a moment longer before his hand suddenly shot out.

"No!" Phoenix shouted, taking a step forward at the same time as Layton. Luke's eyes widened.

"Luke. You know the answer. Say it. Say it now!" Volca demanded, holding Pearl tight against his chest, a knife to her throat. Pearl's eyes were huge and filled with scared tears as she looked at her friends.

"L-let her go!" Luke demanded, his voice shaking.

"Say. The. Answer."

Luke froze, looking between Volca's face, twisted and more angry then he'd ever seen it, and Pearl's wide eyed, fearful one.

"D-death. The answer… is death," Luke finally said. The rock emitted a low, grinding noise, and it split open, revealing a door with four keyholes.

"The keys. Give them to me," Volca demanded. Luke looked up at Professor Layton, hoping that he could figure out someway to save Pearl, but he gave a slight shake of his head, stepping forward and giving Luke the fourth key. Luke hesitated, then handed all four over.

"Please, let her go now," Luke pleaded with the man. Volca threw him a disinterested look, taking the keys, and shoved the boy away with his foot.

"Luke!" Professor Layton said, kneeling next to the boy. Volca quickly unlocked the door and disappeared into the darkness beyond, taking Pearl with him.

"Luke! Mr. Nick!" she cried, scared of the dark.

"No!" Luke cried, pushing himself to his feet and running after Volca, ignoring the pain in his sprained ankle.

"Luke, wait!" Professor Layton yelled, standing to follow.

"Professor Layton?" the most unexpected voice called from behind, causing both the professor and Phoenix to turn.

…

A/N: So, I listen to the Professor Layton and Phoenix Wright soundtracks as I'm writing this, and "Future British Gentleman," from the movie, came on while I was writing the last part of this.

Like, wow. What's the chances, right?

Well, okay, one more chapter, then I'm finished until after Christmas.


	19. Escape!

A/N: Okay, one more chapter so I don't leave you all off on such a mean cliff-hanger for three days, haha. Here we go!

…

Chapter Nineteen – Escape!

 _Drip… drip… drip… drip… drip…_

Clark was no idiot. He knew what the Dark Watchers were trying to do.

 _Drip… drip… drip… drip… drip…_

In his cell, alone, and with nothing to read, no research, and no candles, they effectively placed Clark in a room where the only senses he could use were smell, hearing, and touch.

 _Drip… drip… drip… drip… drip…_

He already explored the entirety of the cave with his hands, finding every last crevice and crack he could reach. Other then cold air and the faint scent of water, there was nothing to smell, and the only sound were those that Clark himself made, and a steady, insistent drip of water.

 _Drip… drip… drip… drip… drip…_

The Dark Watchers were trying to drive Clark mad, so that he would forget all about the Library. And, scary enough, after a few hours of trying to focus on his own thoughts of his family, his friends, his research, London, Misthallery… it was working. The memories were faint and distant when compared to the _drip… drip… drip… drip… drip…_

Clark let out a low groan, trying to block out the noise. He could feel the muscles around his right eye starting to jump in time with the _drip… drip… drip… drip… drip…_

Clark closed his eyes tightly, though it made no difference from the darkness he was already facing, and covered his ears. He could still hear the _drip… drip… drip… drip… drip…_

…

"Why haven't they bought Clark back yet?" Brenda demanded of Greg, pacing the entirety of the cave.

"I'm not sure," Greg admitted with a soft sigh, sitting on his cot. Since Clark found the answer they had been searching for, he hadn't been given any other orders.

"What if they… if they…" Brenda's hands shook, and she was unable to voice her thoughts.

"I don't think they would do that. Clark has a brilliant mind, and they know it. It would be a waste to do away with him," Greg said. In the few days he had known the man, he'd grown to admire him, and not just for his brilliance.

Before Brenda could say another word, their door opened, and in came one Dark Watcher, carrying two trays.

Brenda and Greg glanced at each other, surprised. Usually when a Dark Watcher came in, there was at least ten others with him.

But this man was alone.

Greg got an idea.

"Oooo… my side!" he suddenly groaned, clutching at his healing side and bending double. The Dark Watcher turned to the man in alarm. He knew that they had already found their answers, thanks to Dr. Triton, but they still wanted to keep all three of their hostages alive.

And in these caves, a dangerous infection was a very real threat.

"Are you okay?" the Dark Watcher asked, taking an uncertain step towards Greg. Brenda, realizing what Greg was doing, scowled at the Dark Watcher.

"Of course he isn't! He's had a fever for the past two nights, and all you guys care about is your precious research!" she snapped.

 _Fever_. The Dark Watcher knew that meant infection. He quickly ran over to Greg, kneeling down to look at his side.

And met Greg's knee as it snapped upwards and crashed with the man's nose. The Dark Watcher's head snapped backwards, and he crumpled to the ground.

"Their security is lax right now. They're probably going after whatever Clark found. Come on, help me get the hat and cloak off of him," Greg said. Brenda nodded, kneeling down and pulling the cloak off. Underneath, to her surprise, was a normal man, just like Clark or Greg. He was tall, but not nearly seven foot.

The hat made him seem that way, with how tall it was.

Greg swung the cloak around his shoulders and donned the hat, turning into a Dark Watcher himself.

"I'm going to check right out front to see if there's another Dark Watcher. Wait right here," Greg said. Brenda nodded, watching her only ally step outside. There was another dull thud after a moment, and a soft crack that sounded like something hitting stone, and a few minutes later, Greg the Dark Watcher was dragging another Dark Watcher in. They quickly stripped him of the cloak and hat, which Brenda put on, and escaped their cell.

…

 _Drip… drip… drip… drip… drip…_

Clark slid to the ground, laying on his side, hands still clutched over his ears.

 _Drip… drip… drip… drip… drip…_

He'd only been in this cave, alone, listening to the dripping water for five hours, and it was already wearing on his psyche, stretching him to the limit.

 _Drip… drip… drip… drip… drip…_

"Please, make it stop…" the man groaned, pulling his knees up into fetal position.

 _Drip… drip… drip… drip… drip…_

...

Brenda and Greg would have been horribly lost had it not been for the maps that each of the Dark Watchers carried inside their cloaks. Apparently, these caves were so vast and intricate that even the men who lived and worked in them couldn't find their way around without a map.

"I would guess, with how the made sure Clark didn't tell us anything, they're holding him in the Forgetting Chambers right now," Greg said, studying the map. He didn't know what they did exactly, but just the name of the place sent an unwelcome shiver down his spine. Apparently, Brenda felt the same.

"We have to hurry. He's been gone for hours. Who knows what they're doing to him," she said, rushing forward, following her own map.

…

 _Drip… drip… drip… drip… drip…_

Clark's entire body flinched slightly now. All he could focus on was the sound of the water dripping, somewhere in the darkness.

 _Drip… drip… drip… drip... drip…_

Clark groaned. The sound was so loud. So deafening. It hurt his ears.

 _Drip… drip… drip… drip… drip…_

Clark curled up tighter, wanting to—

There was a different noise…

 _Drip… drip…_

A soft grating.

 _Drip… drip… drip…_

"I must be…" … _drip…_ "…imagining it…" … _drip…_

Clark kept his eyes closed, his face buried in his knees.

…

Brenda looked around the dark room. It was pitch black, with only the sound of water dripping, somewhere in the back.

And soft, jagged breathing, almost seeming to be in time with the dripping water.

"I must be…" _…drip…_ "…imagining it…"

Brenda looked around for the soft voice that whispered that. She would know it anywhere.

"Clark!?" she called. Just then, Greg caught up with her, carrying a torch.

"Don't just run off like that, Brenda. We need to stick…" his voice trailed off as both of their eyes landed on the other man in the room, illuminated now by the light of Greg's torch.

Clark, in fetal position, twitched in time with the dripping water. The look on his face was that of pure agony, like the dripping was causing him pain.

"Clark… oh Clark…" Brenda cried, rushing over to her husband and falling to her knees beside him, stroking his hair.

"The Forgetting Chambers…" Greg breathed, looking around. "They were trying to drive him mad."

"Clark, open your eyes. Look at me," Brenda demanded, tugging gently at the man's hand that was covering his ear. Clark opened his eyes, and gasped softly.

"B-Brenda…" he murmured softly.

"We have to get him out of here," Greg said, coming over and handing Brenda the torch. He knelt down and helped Clark to his feet. He then swiftly helped the man out of the cave.

"We need to find a way out," Brenda said, studying the map.

"The dripping… I can still hear it…" Clark mumbled, putting a hand to his head.

"You probably will for a bit, but just try to focus on something else," Greg said. Clark nodded, focusing on their voices. He then looked back at Brenda. "Any luck?"

"Yes," Brenda replied with a grin. "We need to make two rights, a left, another right, then straight until we reach then exit," she announced.

"Got it."

…

By the time they made it out of the caves, Clark was able to walk on his own, and he seemed mostly back to normal. The brisk, cold winter air, and the blinding sun pushed him back to his old self, for which Brenda was grateful.

"We need to find the Library," Clark said, looking around. To his immense surprise, he could actually see Kurain Village from where they stood. They were much closer then he imagined. Brenda was surprised too.

"That's the unimaginable wisdom?" Greg asked. "A Library?"

"Yes. Come on, I'll explain on the way."

…

Walking through the snowy mountains, barefoot and with nothing warmer then their pajamas, the three were numb and cold by the time they reached the Kurain Maze Stone. However, it was much different then either of the men remembered. It was now split open, revealing a door.

"No!" a young voice cried, one Clark and Brenda instantly recognized as their son's.

"Luke, wait!" another, very unexpected voice yelled. They moved forward faster until they could see the professor and another man.

"Professor Layton?" Clark called. Both men turned, surprise on their faces.

"Clark? Brenda?" Professor Layton responded. He then noticed the state they were in, and their clothes, and quickly pulled off his black jacket, walking forward and wrapping it around Brenda. After all, a true gentleman never lets a lady get too cold.

"What's going on?" Clark demanded.

"We need to go after them. Volca is holding Pearl hostage, and Luke went after them," Phoenix said.

"Volca!?" Greg said in surprise.

"What!?" Brenda and Clark demanded.

"We must hurry. We will explain on the way," Layton said, leading the group of five into the cave.

…

A/N: Okay, so… I wasn't too mean to Clark, right? After all, it's not like I was trying to break his brain, hehe.

Oh… Oh wait…

I do enjoy Greg's character. He's a little bad-ass, hehe.

Well, Marry Christmas Eve, Happy Hanukah, Happy Kwanza, Happy whichever holiday you celebrate around this time of year. I will be back on and writing come December 26th or 27th. Don't worry though, I will still read and reply to reviews!

Bye for now!


	20. Ultimate Wisdom

A/N: I'm baaaaack! With one more chapter and an epilogue, heh. Things are moving quickly now. Hope you all enjoy!

…

Chapter Twenty – Ultimate Wisdom

"That stone was not lying…" Volca breathed as his run slowed to a walk. Starting at the foot of a staircase that led into the depths of the mountain, cases upon cases of books filled a large cavern. The cavern was as tall as a cathedral ceiling and as big as four football fields put together. The bookshelves created winding paths, through which Volca used to loose his pursuers.

"W-what are you going to do with me?" Pearl asked, reclaiming the man's attention from a stack of old parchment scrolls. He looked down at her, his top lip curled slightly in disgust.

"That'll be up to my leader," he said, reminded yet again how much he really hated kids. "Speaking of which," he muttered, reaching into his pocket with his free hand. He made sure his other hand kept the knife against Pearl's neck.

Volca pulled out a cell from his pocket and checked the service before frowning.

"Just enough," he said with a smirk, sending out a quick text.

…

Luke panted as he searched through the bookshelves. His sprained ankle alternated between throbbing and going numb, but his adrenaline kept him moving forward.

"That'll be up to my leader," Volca's voice drifted through the bookshelves to Luke's left. He quickly looked left and right before spotting the end of the shelf, and a way to get to Pearl and Volca. He ran hard and fast towards it, grabbing the end of the shelf and whipping himself around the corner.

With a loud yell, Luke launched himself forward and slammed into Volca's back, wrapping his neck tightly around his neck and clinging on.

"WHOA!" Volca yelled, his phone flinging away into the darkness, the knife spinning the other way. Pearl, feeling the knife away from her neck, darted forward and turned, gasping at the sight.

Volca was twisting and squirming, trying to get the boy off his back. Luke held on for his life, wrapping his legs around the man as well.

Professor Layton, Phoenix, Greg, and the Tritons followed the noise of the struggle, coming around the shelves in time to see Volca throw himself back against a shelf. Luke, smashed between the man and the shelf, loosened his grip, dazed. This allowed Volca to reach back and grab the boy, flinging him over his head and forward.

"Luke!" Clark and Brenda cried. Phoenix sprang forward and caught the boy, sitting back from the Luke's momentum, but breaking his fall. Greg stepped forward.

"Volca! What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded as Pearl ran forward, out of Volca's grip. She kneeled next to where Phoenix was gently sitting Luke on the ground.

"Kingson!? How the hell did you escape?" Volca demanded. Greg shrugged, not answering.

"What are you doing, Volca? Is this what you were using the University's funding for?" he asked. Before Volca could answer, more the sound of footsteps filled the cavern, and they were suddenly surrounded by tall men in swirling, dark cloaks.

"The Dark Watchers!" Brenda gasped, gripping Clark tighter, who wrapped his arm around her, his heart pounding at the thought of the Forgetting Chamber. Pearl, her eyes wide, clung to Phoenix's side, while Luke, who was no longer dazed, glared at them. Professor Layton stepped forward, his eyes riveted on the cloaked man who approached Volca.

"Good job, Volca. Although, it is still embarrassing to think you had the help of a couple of middle-schoolers…" the man said, glancing dismissively at Luke and Pearl. Phoenix wrapped his arms tighter, more protectively around them.

"I told you, sir, the boy had knowledge on the stones," Volca said, a hint of defensiveness in his voice.

"Hmph. Right." The man, finally feeling the professor's eyes on him, looked up.

"Professor Layton. It's nice to finally meet you," he said.

"You've heard of me?" Layton asked. The man nodded, finally pulling his cloak and hat off. In front of them stood a tall, six-foot-three balding man who must have been in his forties. Professor Layton's eyes flickered down to his hip, where a gun rested in its holster.

"Of course. No archeologist worth his degree doesn't know of the famous Professor Hershel Layton, the man who discovered the secrets of the Azran." The man shook his head with a smile. "I am Rodger Nohled. Heh, I guess I should thank your loyal apprentice for summoning you here to the lovely state of California," Nohled said. Professor Layton and Luke glanced at each other. "That way, you can see my glorious triumph. Perhaps, after this, we could collaborate?"

"Hershel," Clark started, apprehension in his voice. He knew the professor was smart, but he also knew how strong the lure of knowledge, of a puzzle could be for the professor. Layton held his hand up to stop his friend.

"First, why did you want to find the Library?" the professor asked.

"I knew this ultimate wisdom was connected to Kurain Village, to it's master, and the village was finally training a new master. The thing was… I wanted that knowledge for myself, and my organization. We would keep it for ourselves, and use it to make the world better," Nohled explained.

"By controlling it using this knowledge," Greg snapped. Volca scowled at his former colleague, opening his mouth to say something.

"Save it, Volca," Nohled snapped at the man before turning to his former captive. "Of course, Dr. Kingson. You've heard the saying 'Knowledge is power.' Hell, I'm sure you've told your students that before, numerous time. Think about it; with ultimate knowledge comes ultimate power. And if we are to make the world a better place using the knowledge, then we would need a leader who has the knowledge," he explained, motioning to himself at the last comment.

"And if they oppose your rule?" Clark demanded. "Will you throw them into the Forgetting Chamber?"

"If I must," Nohled replied smoothly, eyeing Clark. "It nearly worked on you, didn't it?"

Clark shuddered at those words, and Brenda's hands tightened around his arm. Luke looked at his father in surprise. The last time he'd seen fear in his eyes was when Descole` had kidnapped his mom.

"Dad…?" he asked. Clark looked over at Luke, composed himself, and shook his head slightly, using the universal sign for _Later_.

Greg, on the other hand, was furious.

"I spent the better part of my life, my entire career, searching for the true meaning behind the Maze Stones," he started, his voice low. "I was ecstatic when a new one, so close to home, was discovered, and even when Clark found the true meaning. And you… you just want to take it, and use it for yourselves!?" his voice rose with each word. He looked around and spotted a large pillar that was crumbling. Looking up at the ceiling, he could see how it was bowing in and realized that the pillar was the central support. "Well… I'm not going to let that happen," he growled, running over to a bookshelf near the pillar.

"RUN!" he yelled at the professor, Phoenix, the Tritons, and the kids, before throwing himself into the shelf. It tipped over, agonizingly slow at first, before picking up speed.

Realizing what was happening, Phoenix scooped up both kids and ran, Hershal, Clark, and Brenda behind him.

"No! NO!" Nohled yelled, watching as the cavern began to collapse around him. His men, the other Dark Watchers, broke rank and ran towards the entrance. Only Nohled stayed, unmoving, until his second-in-command grabbed him, dragging him along behind.

"We have to run, Rodger! We can come back and try to salvage some things later!" he yelled in his boss's ear. The man simply nodded, allowing himself to be pulled along.

Everyone made it out of the Library alive, turning in time to see a huge sinkhole appear; trees, rocks and everything behind the Maze stone for four football field lengths was swallowed by the earth.

Nohled, having regained his wits, looked around. "Dark Watchers! To me! We have to escape!" he yelled, turning towards the path.

A sleek, red sports car blocked his path, with many police cars clogging the street behind it and two men in front of it.

"LAPD! Freeze!" Gumshoe stepped forward, holding up his badge.

"Mr. Edgeworth? How did you know where to find us?" Professor Layton asked in surprise, looking at the other man who had been standing in front of the car. He smirked and pulled his cell phone from his pocket, looking over at Phoenix.

"A little bird got the bright idea to call me, just before you went into the library," he said. Phoenix grinned and pulled his own, beat up blue phone from his hoodie pocket. It was just then that Layton remembered seeing him put his hands in his pocket when they first confronted Volca.

"That's why you were so insistent on charging your phone," the professor said with a smile.

"I knew it'd come in handy."

The LAPD, lead by Gumshoe, went to work arresting the various members of the Dark Watchers. Luke scowled after Volca before turning to his parents.

"Mum! Dad!" he cried, stepping forward to hug them, when his poor, abused, sprained ankle finally gave out. With a grunt of pain, he collapsed.

"Luke!?" Brenda gasped, finally letting go of Clark to kneel next to her son. Luke didn't care about his ankle, however, and threw his arms around his mother. Clark knelt next to them and threw his arms around both of them for a tearful reunion, interrupted only by one of the officers wrapping a warm blanket around the three of them.

"Thanks, Wright," Miles said, moving to stand next to the ex-attorney, where he stood with an arm around Pearl, watching the family. Professor Layton stood next to the two, watching his old friends as well.

"You're welcome. I got your voicemails. Sorry," Phoenix replied a little sheepishly. Miles simply shrugged with a smile.

"It's okay. I'm just happy everyone's okay," Miles said, watching the family as well before looking over at Greg. "Dr. Kingson has agreed to come down to the precinct with us for questioning. With his testimony, we can hopefully put them away for a long time.

"Good."

...

A/N: Just the epilogue now!


	21. Epilogue

A/N: And here we are! The final chapter!

The next story I will be working on is _Her Special Someone_. It's about Pearl, of course, and what happens when her and her boyfriend of fourteen months, Sean Itall (featured in _The Phantom Turnabout_ ), breaks up, and how Luke will be there for her.

I introduced Sean because I needed a witness for that story, and a reason for him to be in Fey Manor. This was before my eyes were opened to the possibility of Luke/Pearl, but now that I want those two together, I need to get rid of Sean, since ALL of my stories happen in the same universe.

This will probably be done before I go back to school, since it will only be three, maybe for chapters long.

Well, here we go!

…

Epilogue

 _Two Days Later_

Luke sighed, watching as the village medic carefully wrapped his foot in cloth and plaster. After everything he did, the sprain had turned into a fracture. It was swollen twice its normal size and a deep shade of purple. Clark chuckled at his son's face, wrapping an arm around him.

"I still can't believe you parachuted off of a cliff, then ran all over southern California on a sprained ankle," Clark said, giving him a squeeze. Luke grinned. They were already past the 'yelling at him for doing something so stupid' phase, and on to the 'disbelief but proud' phase.

"It was nothing, you know. Most of the time was spent on the train," Luke said modestly. After all, a true gentleman never brags.

"Dr. Triton?" a voice asked from the entrance. Clark looked up at the man who stood in the doorway, Maya right next to him.

"Yes?" Clark asked, standing. The village nurse finished with Luke's ankle and handed him a set of crutches, helping him stand as well.

"I am Dr. Bryan Stone, the dean of Nodir University," he said, reaching out to shake Clark's hand. Clark accepted the gesture, curious.

"It's nice to meet you, Dr. Stone. What's this about?" he asked. The man smiled a warm, welcoming smile.

"I'd like to extend an offer to you. We are in need of an archeologist, and Dr. Kingson suggested you," he explained. Clark chuckled, remembering his friend.

"Really?" he asked. Dr. Stone nodded. "Well, I would need to talk to my wife about it, but I'm sure the answer will be yes," he said. Dr. Stone nodded again.

"We can iron out the details in my office at Nodir. There is one other thing, as well," he said, looking between Clark and Luke. "Luke, it came to our attention that it was you who solved most of the puzzles, not Volca," he said. Luke, surprised at being addressed, nodded.

"Um, y-yes sir?"

"Well, if you're interested in going into the archeology field, we'd like to extend an invitation into the Gifted Students Program for Archeology. It's for middle to high school students. We usually accept students on a reference base but… everything you did with the Maze Stones, and being apprenticed to the famed Professor Hershel Layton, well, I'd say that's reference enough," he said with a smile, pulling out a packet and handing it to Clark. "That's the information on the Program," he explained. Luke grinned as wide as he possible without splitting his face.

"Thank you, sir!" he said excitedly.

…

A week later, Clark looked around the two bedroom apartment that the University supplied him, Luke, and Brenda. It was on the edge of campus and already furnished, and, better yet, the university had offered Clark Tenure.

Luke sat on his bed, looking around his room. It was blank, for now, but he a lot of pictures ready to hang up.

"So, my boy, what do you think?" Professor Layton asked, sitting next to Luke.

"Well, I don't know. I'm going to miss Kurain. And… I still miss you and London," Luke said, looking up at the man. Hershel smiled weakly, wrapping an arm around the boy.

"You'll still see Pearl and the rest of your friends at school, and if you kept the train pass, you'll be able to visit Kurain," Hershel said. Luke smiled weakly up at him.

"I know."

The two sat in silence for a while longer before Luke sighed.

"You're leaving tomorrow, aren't you?"

"Yes, Luke. After all, we are in the middle of the semester," Professor Layton replied. Luke hugged him.

"I hate saying good-bye twice," Luke said, his voice muffled by the professor's jacket.

…

Pearl sat at her window in her room in Fey Manor, watching as the sun slowly sank below the mountain range. In her hands was a piece of paper that she was rolling between her fingers. It was the riddle Luke had written for her just a few weeks ago before everything started.

It felt like eons ago.

With everything that happened, she didn't have anytime to think about the answer.

"' _What falls, but never breaks? What breaks, but never falls?_ '"

She sighed sadly, resting her chin on the window sill.

"I know he didn't go back to London, but did he really have to leave Kurain?" she asked the glass of her window softly, knowing that between the Gifted Students Program and the two hour ride back and forth between town and the village, it'd be harder to hang out as much. She sighed again, letting her forehead rest against the window pane.

…

A/N: And here we are! The end! I'm kind of sad to see this one done, but the next one shall be started, probably tomorrow!


End file.
